 "GES 2017: Economics, Ivanka and Hyderabad’s English-speaking rich beggars")
Begging should not be a crime if it is done due to poverty, the Centre told the Delhi High Court on Tuesday, which wondered if anyone begs out of compulsion or by choice.
The Centre's stand came on two PILs seeking basic human and fundamental rights for beggars in the national capital and for decriminalising begging.
A bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and C Hari Shankar asked, "If anybody beg out of compulsion or choice? Have you ever seen somebody begging out of choice?"
The central government, in an affidavit, said that at present, 20 states and 2 union territories have either
