Speaking about the death of two persons who inhaled toxic gases inside a sewer in Delhi earlier this month, the Delhi High Court on Tuesday, 27 September, observed that despite there being laws, manual scavenging continues to be performed.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma, which was hearing public interest litigation (PIL), granted time to the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to state its stance on the matter.
On 9 September, a sweeper and a security guard died in Delhi's Mundka after they inhaled toxic gases inside a sewer.
The sweeper, who had gone down to clean the sewer, fainted, and the guard followed inside to rescue him. He also fell unconscious soon after, the police had said.
The two men, identified as Rohit Chandilya, 32, and Ashok, 30, were taken to a hospital where they were declared brought dead. Chandilya, who is survived by his wife and a two-year-old son, was the sole breadwinner of his family.
A case under Section 304A (causing death by negligence) of the Indian Penal Code was registered.
"The matter pertains to the death of a scavenger and despite all the laws, they were forced to do this," the bench, which also comprised Justice Subramonium Prasad, observed on Tuesday.
Senior advocate Rajshekhar Rao, the amicus curiae in the case, informed the court that between 2012 and 2017, there were over 800 cases of deaths of safai karamcharis in the national capital.
Delhi government counsel Santosh Kumar Tripathi said that an FIR has already been registered concerning the incident and that "the executing agency should be made liable."
During the last hearing, the high court was informed by the counsel for Delhi Jal Board (DJB) that the area where the incident took place falls under the DDA, and that even the sweeper was a DDA employee.
Meanwhile, DDA's council has sought time from the court to seek instructions on the PIL. The court listed the case for further hearing on 6 October.
The high court, on 12 September, took suo motu cognisance of the death of the two persons based on a news report and directed that a PIL be registered on the issue.
The bench noted that the family of those who died while manually cleaning septic tanks is entitled to be compensated financially.
"There is a Supreme Court judgment on the subject which says that the moment the death takes place of a person who is manually doing this scavenging work, the family is entitled to (certain financial assistance)… plus a job to one of the members of the family."Delhi High Court Bench
In August, the Centre informed the Parliament that between 2017 and 2021, as many as 330 people died cleaning sewers and septic tanks.
(With inputs from PTI.)
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