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In a strongly worded order, the Bombay High Court has criticised the continued practice of 'manual scavenging' stating that even while India has reached the other side of the Moon, yet the social evil of 'caste system' is still followed in our country and this hard reality stares us in the face, which forces citizens to do work that is 'below' human dignity. 

A division bench of Justice Bharati Dangre and Justice Manjusha Deshpande bemoaned the existence of 'caste system' in our society even after 75 years of our country's freedom and adoption of our own Constitution. 

"In the 21st Century, we boast about reaching the other side of the Moon, yet the hard reality that stares us in the face is that the social evil of the caste system is still followed in our country, which forces some of our citizens to do work that is below human dignity. Though the Constitution guarantees all its citizens, equality before the law and equal protection of the law, even after 75 years of adopting the Constitution, our Country is not free from the social evil that has haunted us for ages. Manual Scavenging is one such practice, which is still followed in our Country, which forces a particular class of community to undertake this inhumane practice for generations, inspite of prohibition imposed on it by various Judicial Pronouncements of the Supreme Court and statutes prohibiting such practice," the bench observed. 

The bench was dealing with a bunch of petitions challenging a clause of a Government Resolution (GR) issued in 2019 and 2025, wherein the Maharashtra Government made private societies and contractors, employing any individuals for manual scavenging, liable for paying compensation in case of any untoward incidents like death of such scavengers.

The petitioners through Senior Advocate Gayatri Singh highlighted that because of such a clause in the GR, the families of manual scavengers, who die due to hazardous gases etc while cleaning, have to run from pillar to post and in fact in some cases, the local authorities or other State bodies have refused to help citing the GR— claiming that it is for the societies and contractors to look after the payments. 

Representing the Shramik Janata Sangh and two other individuals, Singh pointed out that the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) devised by the Central Government, provides that only Registered Agencies/Contractors/Employers with certain eligibility, requirements and responsibilities may carry out such work; and where both the mechanical and manual process are delineated in great detail including methods, use of protective gear and safety devices, precautions to be taken and emergency preparedness.

The senior advocate highlighted that the State authorities have failed to implement these SOPs and even other laws and statues governing the issue of manual scavenging or septic tank or sewer cleaning. 

The judges noted that the Maharashtra Government in its affidavit stated that pursuant to orders of the High Court as well as Supreme Court, 81 such cases of manual scavengers' deaths were identified and each of their families were paid Rs 10 lakh, totalling the State expenditure to Rs 8.10 crore.  

"The practice of manual scavenging has been in existence in our country since time immemorial. For the first time, taking cognizance of this social evil prevalent in the country, which forced a particular community to do the menial task of manual scavenging, the Central Government, with a view to emancipate those trapped in this social evil, constituted a Special Commission for Safai Karamcharis in the year 1993, to give its recommendations to the Government regarding specific programmes for the welfare of the sanitation workers. In the same year, the parliament enacted the 'Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act, 1993'; with an object: for abolishing manual scavenging by declaring employment of manual scavengers, for removal of human excreta an offence and thereby ban further proliferation of dry latrines in the country," the bench noted. 

This, the judges pointed out, has been done with an object of protecting and improving the human environment, to make it obligatory to convert dry latrines into water-seal latrines or to construct water-seal latrines in new construction. However, despite the various Statutes and orders, the bench said the Maharashtra Government failed in implementing the said laws and protecting the manual scavengers. 

"We find that despite the comprehensive Act of 2013, which prohibits employment of Manual Scavengers and makes the rehabilitation of their dependants mandatory, the provision of this Act and the Rules made in that behalf are not being followed by the State Government, as well as the Local Authorities in its true spirit, which can be gathered from the affidavit filed by the State Government, which contains the data of reported deaths, on account of manual scavenging. Thus, it can be inferred that the State is not successful in fully eradicating the social evil, i.e. of manual scavenging which is prohibited under the Act of 2013. We find that inspite of beneficial enactments and various Government Resolutions issued for the prohibition of the manual scavengers and the protection of sewer workers, the implementation of these Acts and Government Resolutions is miserably lacking. Inspite of the directions issued by this Court from time to time, the Local Authorities have failed to ensure compliances of the mandatory provisions of the Act of 2013 and the Rules made thereunder," the bench said. 

As regards the main issue in the petitions, the clause in the GOs issued in 2019 and 2025, the bench noted that often these works are executed by the private society, without permission from the Local Authorities by employing untrained workers, without providing them protective gears at the instance of private contractors. In such situation, the Local Authorities, like the Municipalities and Municipal Corporation shirk their responsibility of compensating such victims. 

"We are surprised by the stand of the State Government, which is reflected in the GR issued on December 12, 2019, and reiterated in GR dated April 30, 2025 which absolves the State as well as the Local Authorities from their responsibility to make payment of compensation to the sanitation workers who were engaged in the works carried out at places other than the Government and Semi Government undertakings, belonging to the private individuals, societies, organisation etc. The said clause in both the GRs results in discriminating sewage workers who are engaged at private sector as compared to those employed under the State/Local Authorities/ Semi-Government undertakings. Leaving the dependants of such victims exposed to uncertainties and depriving them of the immediate relief, as contemplated under the Act of 2013, as well as the judicial pronouncements holding the field. The policy of the State is clearly violative of the fundamental right of equality guaranteed under Article 14 of the Constitution of India, in as much as it discriminates between the class of sanitation workers, who are carrying the same work only on the basis of the employer appointing them," the bench held.

The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013, does not discriminate the workers engaged in Hazardous cleaning on the basis of their employer, the judges said, adding that the intended object of the said enactment is to eliminate the dehumanising practice of Manual Scavenging, which was held to be inconsistent with the right to live with dignity as guaranteed by Part III of Constitution of India which does not permit such discrimination between the individuals belonging to the same class.

"The Respondent State Authorities/the Local Authorities, shall ensure that the dependants of the victim are immediately compensated by making payment of the Compensation which the dependants of victim, which shall be later recovered from the respective office/establishment/private individual, where the victim was working," the bench made it clear. 

The bench has also issued directions to the State to take proper steps to rehabilitate the family members of such workers, who die in hazardous cleaning activities.

"The State Government is directed to identify, within a period of 6 months from the date of this order, all persons who have died while engaged in 'Hazardous Cleaning' as defined under section 2(d) of the act of 2013. Upon such identification, the State shall pay compensation of Rs. 30,00,000 to the dependants of each such deceased person. The State as well as the Local Self Bodies shall take steps for Rehabilitation of the dependants of sanitation workers and manual scavengers as contemplated in the Act of 2013, without differentiating between Sanitation Workers and Manual Scavengers," the bench ordered. 

With these observations, the bench disposed of the petition. 

Appearance:

Senior Advocate Gayatri Singh along with Advocate Sudha Bharadwaj and Khalil Rehman appeared for the Petitioners.

Advocate AS Rao represented the Thane Municipal Corporation.

Additional Government Pleader Omkar Chandurkar and Assistant Government Pleader SA Prabhune represented the State. 

Case Title: Shramik Janata Sangh vs State of Maharashtra (Writ Petition 1570 of 2023)

Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (Bom) 429

Click Here To Read/Download Judgment

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