The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed states and Union Territories to provide dry ration to all sex workers on the basis of the data available with the National AIDS Control Organisation (Naco) and district legal authorities, without insisting on ration card or any other identity proof in view of the unprecedented pandemic situation.

A bench of Justices L. Nageswara Rao and Ajay Rastogi passed the directions after an NGO, Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee, brought to the court’s notice the hardship faced by sex workers rendered almost destitute because of no work during pandemic and sought monetary assistance and dry rations for them without insistence on identity proof.

The bench also asked the states and Union Territories to file an affidavit in four weeks detailing the modalities worked out to provide succour to sex workers during the present crisis.