Summary
The Supreme Court directed phased eradication of manual sewer cleaning, effective surveys, functioning statutory institutions and full rehabilitation of sewage workers and bereaved families. It raised sewer-death compensation to Rs 30 lakh and set disability minima of Rs 10 lakh, or Rs 20 lakh for permanent disability causing economic helplessness. Unsafe hazardous cleaning violated Articles 17 and 23 despite purported consent. The proceedings remained pending for monitoring.
Issues
- Whether earlier surveys and inactive institutions fulfilled the statutory duty to identify and rehabilitate manual scavengers.
- How constitutional dignity and the prohibition of forced labour applied to hazardous sewer cleaning.
- What preventive, compensatory and rehabilitative directions were required.
Provisions considered
- Articles 17, 21 and 23, Constitution of IndiaUntouchability, dignity and freedom from forced labour required protection against unsafe hazardous cleaning and effective rehabilitation; purported voluntary agreement did not validate unsafe work. (¶ 83–95)
- Section 2(1)(d), (g), (p) and (q), Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013The statutory definitions distinguished manual scavenging from hazardous cleaning; without a constitutional challenge the distinction was not invalidated. (¶ 80–82)
Held
- Identification through a legally compliant survey was essential to rehabilitation. Central and State Governments had to provide policy guidance and ensure implementation rather than leave the duty entirely to local bodies. (¶ 47–56)
- The 2013 and 2018 exercises did not satisfy the prescribed procedure: required institutions, provisional lists, objections and final publication were lacking. Inconsistent data further undermined reliance on them. (¶ 57–66)
- The required commissions and monitoring, vigilance and survey committees had to function effectively; their absence, vacancies or inactivity could not reduce the legislation to a dead letter. (¶¶ 67–79, 96(12)–(13))
- Mechanisation was the statutory objective, with manual entry confined by the rules to exceptional situations and safeguards. Employment without minimum protective gear and cleaning devices amounted to forced labour; purported consent supplied no defence. (¶ 83–91)
- The Union was directed to secure phased eradication of manual sewer cleaning, including through contractors; States and Union Territories were to adopt corresponding directions. Full rehabilitation, including employment for next of kin, education and skill training, was required. (¶ 96(1)–(3))
- Sewer-death compensation was fixed at Rs 30 lakh, including for dependants not paid that amount and future cases. Disability compensation was to be at least Rs 10 lakh, and at least Rs 20 lakh for permanent disability causing economic helplessness. (¶ 96(4)–(5))
- Directions covered contractor accountability, model contracts, survey modalities within three months and ideal completion in the following year, scholarships, legal-services participation, training and a public information portal. (¶ 96(6)–(14))
Result
Directions issued for mechanisation, surveys, institutional functioning, accountability, compensation and rehabilitation. Sewer-death compensation fixed at Rs 30 lakh; disability minima of Rs 10 lakh or Rs 20 lakh in the specified severe cases. Matter listed for further monitoring on 1 February 2024.