‘Reached Moon But Caste Prejudices Remain’: Bombay High Court Quashes Maharashtra Policy Shielding State from Manual Scavenging Liability
Case Title: Shramik Janata Sangh vs State of Maharashtra
Case No.: Writ Petition 1570 of 2023
Coram: Justice Bharati Dangre and Justice Manjusha Deshpande
Court Observation
“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 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,”
“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,”
“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 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 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,”
