New Delhi: Begging in the national capital city will no longer be a crime after the Delhi High Court had decided it needs to be struck down since it is unconstitutional and penalizing should be struck down.
A bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar noted it is unconstitutional on Wednesday, DC reported.
The court, instead said that the Delhi government is at liberty to come up with an alternative legislation to curb racket involving forced begging.
The bench said penalizing begging and making it a crime is unconstitutional and needs to be struck down.
Previously the Court on May 16 had asked how begging could be treated as an offense in a country where the government was unable to provide food or jobs. The High court was considering two PILs which sought decriminalize begging.
The government had earlier told the court that begging will not be decriminalized.
The PILs filed by Harsh Mandar and Karnika Sawhney sought basic human and fundamental rights for beggars in the national capital, apart from decriminalizing begging.