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The Supreme Court has expressed dissatisfaction with the manner in which States and Union Territories reported compliance with its directions on ensuring menstrual hygiene facilities in schools, observing that some responses appeared to be mere formalities and did not reflect the situation on the ground.

A bench of Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice R Mahadevan while monitoring compliance with its judgment in Jaya Thakur v. Government of India & Ors. 2026 LiveLaw (SC) 94, after perusing the affidavit filed by the Union Of India, stated that though substantial progress has been made, a lot more ought to be done to make the right to menstrual health more meaningful.

To recap, the bench directed the pan-India implementation of the Union's national policy, 'Menstrual Hygiene Policy for School-going Girls' in schools for adolescent girl children from Classes 6-12. The directions include:

"1. All States/UT must ensure that every school, whether government-run or privately managed, in both urban and rural areas, is provided with functional gender segregated toilets with usable water connectivity.

2. All existing or newly constructed toilets in schools shall be designed, constructed and maintained to ensure privacy and accessibility, including by catering to needs of children with disabilities.

3. All school toilets must be equipped with functional washing facilities and soap and water available at all times.

4. All states/UTs must ensure that every school, whether government-run or privately managed, in both urban and rural areas, provide oxo-biodegradable sanitary napkins manufactured in compliance with the ASTM D-6954 standards free of cost. Such sanitary napkins must be made readily accessible to girl students, preferably within toilet premises through sanitary napkin vending machines or, where not visible, at a designated place.

5. All States/UTs must ensure that every school, whether government-run or privately managed, in both urban and rural areas establish menstrual hygiene management corners. It must be equipped with spare innerwears, uniforms, disposable pads and other necessary materials to address menstrual urgency."

During the latest hearing held on September 1, 2026, the bench examined the report called on from the States / UTs as well as Union of India as regards further progress on due compliance with the aforesaid directions.

According to the Union's affidavit, out of 39,439 girls' toilets identified as remaining to be made functional, 30,458 had been constructed, 4,236 were under construction and 4,745 remained as a gap.

The Union also reported substantial expansion of handwashing facilities, sanitary napkin distribution, menstrual hygiene management (MHM) corners, vending machines and waste-disposal mechanisms. Several States and UTs were shown to be reported complete or near-complete coverage of various facilities.

However, the Court said that merely reporting numerical figures was insufficient, after expressing “discontent with the manner in which compliance is reported” and that some State responses exhibited “non-application of mind or rather mere formality.”

“…we are constrained to say that we are discontent with the manner in which compliance is reported. The response by some States exhibit non-application of mind or rather mere formality. For instance, where the response shall be subjective, some States have indicated compliance through mere statistics or objective yes/no responses.”, the Court said.

For instance, several States claimed saturation of toilets despite the number of toilets accessible to children with special needs being lower than the total number of schools. Assam's handwashing figures did not correspond with its total number of schools, while Tamil Nadu claimed saturation despite having far fewer schools with gender-segregated toilets than its total school strength.

The Court similarly questioned claims of full coverage of sanitary-napkin vending machines and provision in Karnataka, Jammu & Kashmir, Odisha and Arunachal Pradesh, where the reported numbers were lower than the total number of schools. Discrepancies were also found in disposal-system data submitted by Bihar, Gujarat, Delhi, Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. The Punjab report was found to be illegible.

“The States/UTs shall not be lethargic in implementing the changes meant for children with special needs. The authorities shall be more vigilant towards such children. These children face barriers that go beyond ordinary challenges of schooling. The Union and all the States Governments have to act jointly in the right direction to make the right to menstrual health more meaningful. The progress may be slow but it shall be meaningful.”, the Court observed.

Responses shall now reflect the gaps instead of what has been achieved

The Court has also changed the manner in which States and UTs are required to report compliance.

Instead of merely reporting what has already been achieved, future reports must identify:

• the number of schools still lacking functional, gender-segregated toilets;

• availability of usable water connectivity;

• accessibility and privacy;

• availability of menstrual absorbents;

• functioning of waste-disposal systems;

• the cause behind each identified gap; and

• the time required to bridge the gap.

“…the States/UTs shall take the gaps highlighted by us in the foregoing paragraphs into consideration while reporting their next progress. The responses shall now reflect the gaps instead of what has already been achieved. For instance, the focus should be on the number of schools that lack gender-segregated, functional toilets with usable water connectivity, ensuring accessibility and privacy. While indicating this gap, the States/UTs shall also identify the cause behind the gap, and the time required to bridge the gap.”, the Court said.

District Education Officer shall form teams of teachers to conduct surprise inspections of schools across district

The Court noted that its judgment had required DEOs to conduct periodic inspections of school infrastructure, including toilets, washing facilities, menstrual absorbents, sanitary waste disposal and awareness measures. The inspections were also required to obtain anonymous feedback from students.

The Court has now directed DEOs to form teams of teachers to conduct surprise inspections across districts covering all schools within their jurisdiction. The inspections will specifically examine compliance with the directions issued in the main judgment.

The Court also directed States and UTs to place on record the takeaways from DEO inspections and feedback received from students.

“We are directing a change in the manner of collection of data and reflection of responses thereto for the next cycle. To get a better understanding of the situation on ground, the District Education Officer shall form teams of teachers to conduct surprise inspections across districts for all the schools within its jurisdiction. The inspection shall be conducted to seek information as regards our directions in Para 173 of the judgment.”, the Court said.

Sanitary napkin requirement changed to biodegradable, biocompatible and compostable napkins

Addressing the problem of growing problem of menstrual waste, and its impact on the ecology, the Court also changed the composition of sanitary napkin, which shall now be biodegradable and compostable sanitary napkins manufactured from material like bamboo, jute, banana, starch and corn, thus offering a sustainable solution.

The requirement of “oxo-biodegradable sanitary napkins manufactured in compliance with the ASTM D-6954 standards” will now be read as requiring “biodegradable, biocompatible and compostable sanitary napkins in compliance with ISO 17088 read with IS 5405 standards.”

The Court emphasized on the use of biodegradable and compostable napkins for two good reasons:

“First, these biodegradable sanitary napkins are free from harmful chemicals, bleaching agents, synthetic fragrances which lead to long-term health risks.

Secondly, it reduces the environmental burden that eventually our children would inherit. In short, this is about making sure that the choices we make right now, do not create problem for the young children after a few decades.”

“We take this opportunity to emphasize that the States shall slowly move towards more eco-friendly and scientifically validated menstrual absorbents, more particularly, biodegradable sanitary napkins, cloth-based sanitary napkins or reusable sanitary napkins, menstrual cups, period panties. The States/UTs may begin by promoting the use of reusable sanitary napkins by educating the girl children about the manner of use, and precautions to be undertaken while using them. Afterall, sustainability is an act of care for the next generation.”, the Court observed.

The matter is listed next on September 29, 2026.

Cause Title: JAYA THAKUR VERSUS GOVERNMENT OF INDIA & ORS.

Citation : 2026 LiveLaw (SC) 939

Click here to download order

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