Supreme Court Issues Notice In Plea Seeking To Enforce Fundamental Rights Of Persons Trafficked Into Bonded Labour

A Division Bench of Justices S Indira Banerjee and V Ramasubramanian issued notice in the matter today.

The Petitioner, in his plea states that among several bonded labourers, he was released from a horrific multi-generational bonded labour on February 28, 2019 from abrick kiln at Shahjahanpur, Kalan, U.P. The labourers were trafficked by an unregistered contractor from their native village at Gaya, Bihar to Shahjahanpur in UP on the pretext of repaying a bonded debt. In Shahjahanpur, they were forced to work at a brick kiln without receiving statutory minimum wages and with a severe curtailment of their freedom of movement and employment, the petition said.

The Central and state governments' failure to ensure the effective functioning of vigilance committees, as required under the Bonded Labour Abolition Act, 1976 (the Act) as well as serious lapses in the timely identification, release and rehabilitation of bonded labourers violates the bonded labourers' rights under Articles 14,19, 21 and 23 of the Constitution, the petitioner asserts.

Under sections 13 and 14 of the Act, the State government is responsible for appointing a vigilance committee at every district and subdivision in order to have a proper and well-maintained surveillance system. The main functions of the vigilance committee include advising the District Magistrate and other officials concerning the various provisions of this Act and their implementation. They also provide for the rehabilitation of bonded labour both socially and economically. In this regard, the petition states that,

"Lack of effective functioning of Vigilance Committees ["VC"]: Section 13 of the Bonded Labour Abolition Act, 1976 [Hereinafter "BLA"] as well as several judgements of this Hon'ble Court such as in PUCL v. State of Tamil Nadu, (2013)1 SCC 585 (PUCL's case) mandate the constitution of vigilance committees to eradicate bonded labour at the district and sub-divisional level."

The responses to the petitioner's requisitions before the concerned authority under the Right to Information Act reveals that there are still districts where vigilance committees are not constituted and a majority of vigilance committees fail to meet regularly.

Giving instances, the petition states that in the NCT of Delhi, the District Magistrate of the South-East District's RTI response points out that no vigilance committee has been constituted. Further, several VCs appear not to be meeting at regular intervals. For example, the VC in Kasganj, Uttar Pradesh, has not conducted a single meeting over a three-year period and in North Delhi, it appears that no meetings have been conducted.

The VCs of Bundi, Rajasthan and Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh have conducted only one to two meetings in three years.

"It is respectfully submitted that without the constitution of the said bodies and the effective functioning the very identification and release of bonded labourers becomes impossible and the primary objectives of the BLA are defeated", the petition argues.

The petition further throws light on the failure to identify bonded labour by conducting periodic surveys, which is mandatory as per the Act. According to the Act, surveys should be conducted at regular intervals, and once at least every three years.

However, based on the RTI replies, the petitioner informs that most VCs haven't carried out surveys in the last six years.

"For example, in the district of Panipat in the State of Haryana, the RTI reply dated 19.07.2021 bears out that no surveys have been conducted in the last six years. Same is the case in Thane, Maharashtra [RTI reply dated 06.08.2021] and Bundi, Rajasthan [RTI reply dated 29.07.2021].This stands in direct contravention to the judgement of this Hon'ble Court in PUCL v. State of Tamil Nadu, (2013) ......"

Apart from violating the provisions of the Act, the failure to conduct regular surveys also amounts to non-implementation of the Central Sector Scheme for Bonded Labourers, 2021 (CSS, 2021) as well, the petition highlights.

The petition also brings to notice that the VCs along with the District Magistrates and local authorities do not act in a time bound manner on complaints made regarding bonded labour. This can be observed from some of the National Human Rights Commission of India's publicly accessible orders where even several weeks after District Magistrates are repeatedly directed to take adequate action on bonded labour complaints, the same is not complied with.

Though the petitioner was released from bonded labour in 2019, he is yet to receive his immediate financial assistance of Rupees 30,000/-, as per the Central Sector Scheme for Bonded Labourers, 2016 and the CSS, 2021. The petitioner made representations in this regard to the Concerned District Magistrate, Gaya, but to no avail.

"The immediate financial assistance is to help with immediate rehabilitation needs of released bonded labourers and differs from the final compensation received upon conviction of the perpetrators or under Section 357A of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The Petitioner apprehends that there are several similarly placed persons who are yet to receive timely immediate assistance which increases their risk to re-trafficking and makes their rehabilitation extremely arduous."

In this regard, the petition seeks the following reliefs:

To direct State governments to ensure that fresh surveys for the identification of bonded labour are carried out as per the directions in PUCL's case and the CSS, 2021

To direct State governments to constitute VCs in each district and each sub-division in accordance with the Act.

To direct the release of immediate financial assistance of 30,000 to the petitioners and other similarly placed bonded labourers under the CSS, 2021.

To direct to issued guidelines for inquiries conducted by the District Magistrate under Section 12 of the Bonded Labour System (Abolition)Act, 1976 and the payment of immediate financial assistance thereafter to be undertaken in a time bound manner.

To direct the States/UTs to take special rehabilitative efforts for the education of released child bonded labourers under the Right to Education Act, 2009 and as per the directions in PUCL's case through the appropriate local bodies.

Case Title: W.P.(C) No. 511/2022 PIL-W Surendhra Manjhi vs Union of India and ors.