Article 21 has been incorporated as inherent and absolute provision in the context of Manual Scavenging. One of the most prominent rights which has been highlighted by the apex court is Article 21 as it guarantees and protects every citizen from deprivation of life or personal liberty and it ensures a life with dignity which needs to be free from exploitation.

Recently, a division bench of Acting Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Sachin Shankar Magadum, while hearing a plea to end manual scavenging, lamented that even after the presence of the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scanvengers and Rehabilitation Act, 2013 and the Rules framed by the Act, the law is being flouted by local bodies and the State or by contractors appointed by the local bodies.

The court directed the State Government to file a detailed report containing reasons as to why the ‘rehabilitation of manual scavengers’ survey report was not yet completed considering the fact that there is a statutory provision contained in the Act regarding the same.

The Bench observed that the State had not provided rehabilitation of family members who lost their people to manual scavenging as per Section 13 of the Act. In addition, they stated that the death had taken place in January, 2021 but no steps were taken to allot houses, financial assistance or residential plots to them. The court also considered an incident where three sanitation workers were killed, the investigation was still going on in Ramangara and the State had paid 10 lakhs for compensation.

Since, the District Magistrate had a duty in this case to follow the provisions of Section 13, the court directed both the District Magistrates to be present in the next hearing which was to be held on October 3.