India, April 30 -- The Supreme Court on Wednesday said the food security for the poor under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) should not absolve states of their duty to bring the poor out of the below poverty line as it dealt with a petition that sought an increase on the cap on ration card beneficiaries under the Act, saying it was based on the 2011 census.

Dealing with an application filed by a group of public-spirited citizens in a suo motu petition for remedying issues faced by migrant labourers, the bench refused to accept that the cap needs to be increased as it does not reflect the addition of poor individuals and families between 2011 and 2021 of the census period.

A bench of justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh, said th...