Delhi High Court Issues Notice On PIL Against Exclusion Of Sewer And Septic Tank Cleaners From Manual Scavenging Prohibition Law

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday issued notice on a public interest litigation challenging the exclusion of sewer and septic tank cleaners doing hazardous cleaning from the purview of Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013 and the Rules framed therein.

A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora sought response of the Union Government through Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment and the Delhi Government within eight weeks.

The matter will now be heard on July 04.

The plea has been filed by a septic tank cleaner and a daily wage labourer whose brother, also a sewer cleaner, died in 2017 while performing sewer cleaning in city's Lajpat Nagar.

The PIL seeks striking out of Sections 2(1)(g), 13, 14 15, 16 and 39 of the 2013 Act as well as the Rules as being violative of Article 14, 17, 21 and 24 of the Constitution of India. It further seeks a direction upon the governments to rehabilitate sewer cleaners and provide them all the benefits as received by manual scavengers under the Act.

“It (impugned provisions) is violative of Article 14 because it is not only manifestly arbitrary but also against the principles of reasonable classification, as it excludes from its purview the “Sewer cleaner and Septic tank cleaner doing hazardous cleaning” as they also clean, carry, dispose of and handle human excreta from more dangerous places and deprive them of the benefit of identification and rehabilitation provided under Section 11 to Section 16 of the MS Act, 2013 and MS Rules, 2013 and other beneficial schemes brought by Government time to time,” the plea states.

It adds that the impugned provisions allow manual scavenging and cleaning of sewer and septic either manually or with protective devices and gives way to untouchability, which is violative of Article 17 of the Constitution of India.

“The most vexatious fact is the “Cosmetic Effect” created by the Explanation (b) of Section 2(1)(g) which not only fail to eradicate the dehumanizing practice of manual scavenging and do justice with them but also makes this practice to be legitimate in the eyes of law by creating an artificial classification between the manual scavengers on the basis of protective gears and therefore, all the benefits such as that of rehabilitation, scholarships etc. have been snatched away from Manual Scavengers with Protective Gears for which they are equally eligible like the Manual Scavengers without the Protective Gears without considering the fact that the nature of work remains the same,” the plea reads.

The petition also challenges the Explanation (a) of Section 2(1)(g) of the 2013 Act, stating that it only provides for regular or contractual employees and does not include the person cleaning human extrreta on daily wagers, or engaged on temporary workers, and Jajmani.

“The idea behind formulating such a section does not go along with the objective of the MS Act, 2013 and no justification can be provided to give unsound discretion to the government to make exemption for enforcing complete prohibition on Manual Scavenging,” it adds.

Title: Kallu v. Union of India & Anr.