Supreme Court junks plea for libraries in villages

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The Supreme Court on Wednesday (April 2, 2025) remarked hygiene, education and healthcare were the three most important paths towards a robust rural India.

A Bench headed by Justice Surya Kant made the oral observation while hearing a petition filed by Mundona Rural Development Foundation to direct States to set up at least one public library in every village in the country.

But Justice Kant said libraries, though laudable, may not be what rural areas need the most.

“If you want to improve rural India, hygiene, education and health have to be ensured… A person who is starving, does he go to a library?” Justice Kant asked the petitioner.

Justice Kant said States usually quote “financial constraints” as a reason for not spending more to improve hygiene, education and healthcare in rural areas.

The Court said at least 10% to 15% of States’ budgetary allocations must go to bettering basic rural infrastructure in order to realise the ambition of a fully developed nation.

‘Priorities differ’

Justice Kant said priorities differed: while the petitioner believed public libraries were essential in villages, others may want money to be spent on healthcare.

The Supreme Court agreed that libraries did indeed reach out to small children, providing them with “perspectives on subjects like history, culture, Constitutional values, rights and responsibilities of the citizenry”.

Libraries also reached out to people living in inaccessible areas, infusing them with democratic and Constitutional values, Justice Kant said.

“But equally important is the means to provide them adequate healthcare, hygiene and education,” Justice Kant noted.

Call for survey

Justice Kant asked the petitioner NGO whether it had done a survey on the health conditions in villages or the condition of drinking water in them.

“Have you looked at the availability of schools, teachers and mid-day meals for children, the water supply to villages… Has anybody done these surveys?” the Bench asked the counsel for the petitioner.

The Court said it would be left to the wisdom of the policy makers in the government as to which best to prioritise, public libraries or basic infrastructure, in rural areas.

Disposing of the petition, the Bench urged States to look into the issue and take necessary steps within the limit of their resources.

It expressed the hope that States would consider taking effective measures, including the promotion of e-libraries, even through corporate social responsibility funds.