Bonded Labour : Supreme Court Asks Union To Hold Meeting With States, NHRC On Inter-State Trafficking, Child Labour Issues

Expressing dismay at the non-release of immediate financial assistance to rescued bonded laborers, the Supreme Court today directed the Secretary, Ministry of Labor and Employment to hold a meeting with States/UTs and come up with a proposal to address the issue of inter-state human trafficking as well as release of immediate financial assistance to rescued child laborers.

Taking specific note of the "alarming" situation in Uttar Pradesh, a bench of Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan ordered thus:

"As far as State of UP is concerned, the figures are alarming. Out of 5262 released bonded laborers, only 1101 have received immediate financial assistance...4167 are yet to receive...In order to address the issue of inter-state trafficking of children, the issue needs be addressed by the Union as well as all the states in a unified manner. We therefore direct Secretary, Ministry of Labor and Employment to have a meeting with his counterparts in all the states and UTs and come out with a proposal which will address this issue regarding inter-state human trafficking and grant of release certificate. We further direct that proposal should also contain a simplified procedure which will really affect the scheme of providing immediate financial assistance to the rescued child laborers. Union to also take on board the National Human Rights Commission in the finalization of the procedure."

During the hearing, Advocate Abishek Jebaraj (for petitioners) submitted that general guidelines may be laid down by the Court so that non-release of financial assistance does not become a recurring problem. In addition, he mentioned there are specific cases that may require consideration.

Referring to Bihar's status report, the counsel attempted to highlight ground-level problems. He pointed out from the report that in 2016, District Magistrate, Gaya (Bihar) requested District Magistrate, Hardoi (UP) to provide release certificate for 126 bonded laborers in proper format. However, release certificate in proper format has not been submitted till date.

At this point, Justice Viswanathan noted that the figures (of rescued laborers not given immediate financial assistance) was very large, insofar as state of UP was concerned. In reply, Dr Vijendra, Standing Counsel for UP, sought 2 weeks' time to file an affidavit delineating district-wise data regarding release of bonded laborers and grant of immediate financial assistance. He added that the affidavit would indicate the machinery created and the monitoring mechanism functioning in the state.

Hearing him, Justice Viswanathan remarked, "4167 have not received financial assistance in your state...of the rescued".

In response, Jebaraj explained that the state is supposed to undertake surveys to identify bonded laborers. However, in light of its failure to do so, NGOs are conducting surveys and reporting to the District Magistrate. The DM is supposed to forthwith conduct an enquiry and if he finds there is bonded labor, he gives a release certificate. Upon that RC, a bonded laborer gets immediate compensation, is released, is given a job and state prosecutes the perpetrators. However, the state is getting stuck at the stage of RC issuance.

"It's an inter-state issue. For example, [the bonded laborer] may be from Bihar...They are trafficked and taken to some facility in UP...They are rescued and go back to their villages. Some of the issues that are appearing...State of Bihar is saying we have a particular format of release certificate [and] state of UP does not match ours, so we can't release the money."

Taking into consideration the submission, the bench expressed the need for centralization of the above aspects and asked the Union to hold meeting with all stakeholders to come up with a unified formula applicable to all states. Uploading of all relevant data on a digital portal was also suggested.

Senior Advocate HS Phoolka (for NHRC; seeking impleadment) urged that a 2017 Standing Operating Procedure of the Ministry is not being implemented. He submitted that as per the SOP, enquiry should be completed within 3 months. Yet, close to 11000 rescued children have not been given immediate financial assistance.

Case Title: SURENDRA MANJHI AND ANR. Versus UNION OF INDIA AND ORS., W.P.(C) No. 511/2022