The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Union Government to address deficiencies in the implementation of its directions on menstrual hygiene management in schools, observing that merely recognising menstrual hygiene as a fundamental right is not enough without effective action on the ground.

A Bench of Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice R Mahadevan said menstrual hygiene has been recognised as a facet of Article 21 of the Constitution and warned that any laxity in implementing the Court's directions would be viewed seriously.

The Court was monitoring compliance with its January 30 judgment in Dr. Jaya Thakur's petition, which directed the implementation of the Union's Menstrual Hygiene Policy for School-going Girls. The judgment mandated free biodegradable sanitary napkins and gender-segregated toilets with water facilities in schools for girls from Classes VI to XII.

Appearing for the petitioner, Advocate Varun Thakur argued that the reports filed by the Union and States largely contained policy proposals rather than evidence of actual implementation. He pointed to the NITI Aayog Report 2026, which states that over 98,000 government schools lack functional girls' toilets and more than 61,000 do not have usable toilets.

Taking note of the concerns, the Court directed the Union Government to examine the shortcomings highlighted by the petitioner and take corrective measures at the earliest.

The Bench also asked the Centre to continue monitoring compliance by States and Union Territories and submit fresh progress reports every three months, stating that the Court would keep a close watch on the implementation of its directions.