SC issues notice on plea seeking surveys for identification of bonded labourers

The Supreme Court issued notice on a plea seeking direction to concerned authorities to ensure that fresh surveys for the identification of bonded labourers are carried out forthwith.

A bench of Justices Indira Banerjee and V Ramasubramanian issued notice to Centre and others on the plea filed by the petitioner represented by advocates Abhishek Jebaraj, Srishti Agnihotri, and Sambhav Gupta.

According to the petition, the petitioner is a survivor of bonded labour and approached the court under Article 32 of the Constitution to enforce the fundamental rights of persons trafficked into bonded labour.

The petitioner was among several bonded labourers released from horrific multi-generational bonded labour on February 28, 2019 from a brick kiln at Shahjahanpur, Kalan, Uttar Pradesh, the petitioner's lawyer said.

The said labourers were trafficked by an unregistered contractor from their native village at Gaya, Bihar to Shahjahanpur in UP on the pretext of repaying a bonded debt. In Shahjahanpur, they were forced to work at a brick kiln without receiving statutory minimum wages and with severe curtailment of their freedom of movement and employment, the lawyer said.

Henceforth, in his plea, the petitioner has urged to pass direction to the respondent States to ensure that fresh surveys for the identification of bonded labour are carried out forthwith as per the directions of the top court in People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) vs the State of Tamil Nadu case.

The petition also urged to issue direction to the Respondent States to constitute Vigilance Committees in each district and each sub-division in accordance with the provisions of Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976.

The petition also sought to issue direction to release of immediate financial assistance of Rs 30,000 to the Petitioner and other similarly placed bonded labourers under the Central Sector Scheme for Rehabilitation of Bonded Labourers, 2021 and issuing guidelines for inquiries conducted by the District Magistrate under Section 12 of the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976 and the payment of immediate financial assistance thereafter to be undertaken in a time bound manner.

The petition also sought to pass direction to concerned States/UTs through the appropriate local bodies to take special rehabilitative efforts for the education of released child bonded labourers under the Right to Education Act, 2009 and as per the directions of the top court in PUCL vsState of Tamil Nadu case.

( With inputs from ANI )

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