The Delhi High Court on Wednesday, 3 September issued notice to the Delhi government on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) challenging the mandatory requirement of obtaining an MP or MLA endorsement letter before a woman can access benefits under the Delhi Lakshmi Yojana — a scheme that provides ₹2,500 per month in financial assistance to eligible women from economically weaker sections. The bench has scheduled the next hearing for 17 September.

What the PIL Challenges

A bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia admitted the petition filed by Shabana Hussain, through advocate Ashu Bidhuri, and tagged it with a pending petition raising a similar issue. The PIL specifically targets the registration process under which an otherwise eligible woman must approach an elected MP or MLA, obtain a recommendation letter, and upload it on the scheme's portal — before her application can proceed.

The petitioner contends that this requirement introduces what the plea calls an 'unguided and discretionary political interface' between the government and welfare beneficiaries. Critically, the scheme reportedly prescribes no objective criteria for granting or refusing such an endorsement, no time limit for issuance, no reasons for refusal, and no appellate or review mechanism.

The Core Legal Question

The petition frames the central issue as follows: 'The limited issue before this Hon'ble Court is whether an elected representative's endorsement, which may appropriately be provided as voluntary assistance, can lawfully be converted into a mandatory condition precedent for an otherwise eligible citizen to access a State welfare benefit.'

The plea argues that the condition risks treating similarly situated women differently — solely based on their ability or inability to secure a political endorsement — despite all of them meeting the scheme's substantive eligibility criteria. This, the petitioner argues, runs contrary to the principle of equal access to welfare entitlements.

Burden on Vulnerable Women

The PIL highlights that the endorsement requirement is particularly onerous for economically vulnerable women. According to the petition, complying with the condition may involve repeated visits to political offices, expenditure on printing, cyber-café and scanning services, loss of daily wages, and reliance on intermediaries — all of which disproportionately affect those the scheme is designed to help.

Notably, the petitioner's grievance is confined to the political endorsement requirement and does not challenge the beneficial object of the Delhi Lakshmi Yojana or the ₹2,500 monthly assistance itself.

Timeline and Relief Sought

The petition was filed after the Delhi government published a Gazette notification on 6 August 2026 introducing the endorsement condition. The petitioner had submitted a detailed representation to the concerned authorities on 21 August 2026, but reportedly received no effective remedial action, prompting the PIL.

The relief sought includes deletion or quashing of the mandatory MP/MLA endorsement requirement and directions to implement the Delhi Lakshmi Yojana through an 'objective, transparent, accessible and non-discriminatory mechanism'. The matter will be heard next on 17 September, when the Delhi government's response is expected.