Delhi: As night fell around Jama Masjid in Old Delhi, 70-year-old Amanullah prepared his makeshift bed on the pavement. Orphaned early in life and too frail to continue his former work collecting trash, he survives on whatever alms he can gather each day.
"Some days, I manage to collect 200 rupees, some days 100, and some days nothing," he said. "When I have money, I eat. When I don't, I sleep hungry."
Just meters away there is a Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) facility designed to house people exactly like him. Yet Amanullah remained outside, denied entry because he lacked documents that aren't officially required but are often demanded.
Decode spoke to the elderly man in the peak of Delhi winters in December when the minimum temperature touched 4.5 degrees. According to Amanullah, shelter staff sometimes demanded an Aadhaar card he didn't possess, while other times they claimed the facility was full despite visible vacancies.
The Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB), the government body responsible for managing shelters in the capital, operates 197 shelter homes and 250 temporary pagoda tents across Delhi, with a combined capacity for over 9,000 people. With the homeless population significantly exceeding this number, authorities appear to be using arbitrary documentation requirements to manage grossly inadequate facilities.
According to a 2019 study by Dalbery Policy Insights, 30% of homeless people didn't have an Aadhaar ID.
Obtaining an Aadhaar card typically requires a permanent address. However, special provisions exist for the homeless. For address proof, homeless residents in Delhi who enroll for Aadhaar are linked to the Homeless Resource Centre (HRC) of their respective district. The HRC address, along with a pocket code assigned during the survey—identifying the location where the homeless person usually spends the night—is used for Aadhaar delivery and future communication.
However, many homeless individuals Decode spoke to said that they are unaware of the process or whom to contact to obtain an Aadhaar ID.
The denial of entry into shelter homes without Aadhaar cards is not new, though recent episodes of denial sparked significant outrage in Delhi after many homeless individuals were refused access. Yet, this issue extended beyond the capital and persisted nationwide. In 2018, homeless individuals in Hyderabad were denied entry into shelters due to the lack of Aadhaar cards. Similarly, in 2020, reports from Patiala highlighted that homeless people were being turned away from shelters for the same reason. The problem was also evident in the National Capital Region (NCR), where news reports since 2018 showed homeless individuals being denied entry into shelter homes without an Aadaar card.
Amanullah said the shelter staff sometimes demanded an Aadhaar card he didn't possess, while other times they claimed the facility was full despite visible vacancies.
Manoj, another homeless man in Old Delhi, said that shelter staff had turned him away, instructing him to return only after obtaining an Aadhaar card. He expressed frustration at the impossible situation, noting that without a permanent address, he couldn't obtain the required ID. "Living outside is especially tough in the summers when the heat is unbearable—my whole body aches," he said.
The consequences have been deadly.
The Centre for Holistic Development (CHD) reported 180 cold-related deaths among the homeless last winter, while 192 died during a single heatwave week in June last year.
Sunil Kumar Aledia, executive director of CHD, emphasised the fundamental disconnect: "Most of them don't even know what Aadhaar is, and those who do often fail to get one due to the lack of government outreach. The government must launch a strong campaign to ensure marginalised groups like the homeless receive Aadhaar or any digital identity.” Excluding them from welfare schemes over Aadhaar, he stressed, is sheer injustice.
The Supreme Court of India has consistently emphasised that the absence of an Aadhaar card should not prevent individuals from accessing essential services, including shelter. In a 2013 interim order, the Court stated that "no person should suffer for not getting Aadhaar," reinforcing that welfare benefits must remain accessible regardless of Aadhaar possession. In January 2018, the Court questioned the government on how homeless individuals, who lack permanent addresses, could secure Aadhaar cards, highlighting the risk of their exclusion from welfare schemes. Furthermore, it ordered investigations into reports of homeless individuals being denied shelter due to not possessing an Aadhaar card.
The Battle, Amplified
Despite the court orders, the battle of the homeless continues. It often gets amplified by discrimination based on regional and communal grounds.
Jamila, a young mother whose family migrated from West Bengal two decades ago, described being repeatedly turned away despite having a newborn. "They asked for an Aadhaar card and a phone number, neither of which I have.” The shelter guards refused entry the moment they heard that Jamila is originally from West Bengal. She tried to explain that she migrated to Delhi 20 years ago, but her efforts were futile.
She alleged that shelter guards seemed to specifically reject people from Bengal while admitting others.
Incidents like these are not uncommon. Amid a broader crackdown on Bangladeshi immigrants, people have reportedly been denied shelter based on suspicion of their nationality. While Jamila insisted that she and her family were Indian, they lacked documents to prove it. No one in her family owned a phone or possessed official identification to confirm their identity.
Varun Pathak, a child protection consultant at the Ministry of Women and Child Development, confirmed this discriminatory practice: "We have come across cases where people were denied access to shelters simply because they were assumed to be refugees or immigrants due to their lack of ID cards. Most homeless people don't have Aadhaar cards in Delhi, let alone a specific community, but restricting Muslims from accessing the facility on the pretext of being migrants is injustice."
Pathak emphasised that obtaining an Aadhaar card is challenging for homeless individuals despite special provisions. He questioned how people who didn't even understand the concept of ID proof could be expected to navigate the process.
Though the challenge of accessing homeless shelters remains throughout the year for people without mobile phones and I-cards, the situation worsens during major events like elections or national observances such as Republic Day and Independence Day due to stricter digital verification and mobile-based access requirements.
Vinod, an elderly man who came to Delhi decades ago and now survives on alms after a debilitating accident, shared his recent experience with Decode in late January before the Delhi elections. Despite the freezing temperatures, he was denied entry to the shelter without an Aadhaar card and phone number. Staff cited election security concerns, telling him to return after the Delhi elections were over. "I don't think I'll survive till then," he had told the staff despairingly. "The cold is unbearable."
Sunil Aledia, whose NGO had assisted over 10,000 homeless people in obtaining Aadhaar IDs, explained that the government's promotion of Aadhaar as the most legitimate form of identification had created this situation. Unlike other more accessible forms of ID, such as rickshaw licenses, Aadhaar had become the sole accepted proof of identity despite being the hardest for homeless people to obtain.
The Authorities Of Shelter Homes
A caretaker at the Delhi-6 homeless shelter, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the policy. “We have been instructed by higher authorities not to allow anyone without an Aadhaar card and a mobile phone to prevent any mischief, at least till elections are over. We have no choice but to deny them access, even in this freezing cold. I really feel bad for them, but I can’t do anything. We are just following orders.”
Pathak questioned the necessity of Aadhaar for homeless people, asking, "If authorities want to keep a record of inmates, why can’t they just take a photograph or record details manually?"
For Delhi’s most vulnerable, the question remains unanswered as the city heads towards a scorching summer in another few weeks.
Decode reached out to Rajbir Singh, Director (Property, Housing, Lease & Liquidation, Labour Officer [Welfare], Recovery, SUR, Vigilance, BVK, CS, P&M, Night Shelter), but he did not respond to calls. The reporter also emailed DUSIB at their official email address, but did not yet receive a response.
