HC seeks DMRC reply on faulty sanitary pad vending machines 

New Delhi

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday directed the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to respond to a plea alleging that sanitary pad vending machines are faulty across metro stations in the Capital.

A Bench of Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela issued notices to the DMRC, the Delhi government, the Union Ministries of Women and Child Development and Housing and Urban Affairs, and the Delhi Commission for Women. 
The petition, filed by lawyer Nikhil Goyal, seeks directions to ensure the immediate installation and proper functioning of sanitary pad vending machines, along with disposal facilities, in all women’s toilets at metro stations.

The plea said that despite the large number of women commuters, only a few women’s toilets in Delhi Metro stations have basic menstrual hygiene facilities.

“The liability of the State to ensure menstrual hygiene cannot be waived or diminished by offering partial concessions. The right to sanitation is widely recognised as a fundamental human right, both internationally and within India’s constitutional framework,” it stated. It argued that without adequate sanitation facilities for women, particularly in public spaces such as the metro, recognition of this right becomes “hollow and ineffective”.

“Merely acknowledging sanitation as a right is insufficient unless it is backed by tangible infrastructure and inclusive policies,” it added. The petition also urged the court to direct the formulation of a comprehensive menstrual hygiene policy for public transport systems and to establish a monitoring and grievance redress mechanism for menstrual health-related complaints in the Delhi Metro.