Delhi High Court questions MP/MLA endorsement rule for Lakshmi Yojana

Women registering for the Delhi Lakshmi Yojana may have to wait for clarity on a requirement to obtain an endorsement from their local MP or MLA.

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday questioned the condition, telling the Delhi government to seek instructions. Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia said the scheme itself does not list an endorsement letter as an eligibility condition and that applicants’ documents could be used to verify their claims. “Seek instructions. We can’t approve of it,” the Bench told government counsel.

The hearing followed a PIL by former Congress councillor Abhishek Dutt and councillor Vedpal Sheetal Chaudhary. They argued that the portal, which opened on August 1, makes an MP or MLA recommendation compulsory and gives applicants no route to challenge a refusal.

The scheme offers ₹2,500 a month to eligible women aged 21 to 60 from families earning up to ₹2.5 lakh annually. Registration had already brought queues and document hurdles, while sanction letters are planned from August 26. The court will take up the endorsement issue on August 24.