Taking serious view of the casual manner with which the issue of rehabilitation of widows was handled by some State Governments, the Supreme Court has imposed penalties on those State Governments.

The apex Court had earlier set up a Committee comprising senior advocates and social activists to investigate deeply and submit a detailed report to it on the actions initiated by State Governments for rehabilitating abandoned widows and to monitor the existing/proposed schemes for their re-marriage and income.

The findings of the Committee were submitted to the Supreme Court recently. The report is said to have been ‘highly critical’ of a few States not taking any action on the above-said issues.

Taking cognizance of the report, the apex Court imposed a penalty of Rs.2 lakh on eleven State Governments. The States which have faced the Supreme Court’s condemnation and penalty in this regard are: Tamil Nadu, Mizoram, Uttarakhand, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Assam, Punjab and Arunahcal Pradesh.