State liable to pay compensation in manual scavenging deaths even if labourers were employed by private individuals: Bombay High Court
The Bombay High Court ruled that the State of Maharashtra is liable to pay compensation for manual scavenging deaths, regardless of whether the laborers were employed by the government or private individuals. The court emphasized that the state retains the right to recover these funds from the private employers.
Why it matters
This ruling reinforces state accountability for the protection of vulnerable workers and sets a legal precedent for compensation in cases of hazardous labor practices.
The Aurangabad Bench of the Bombay High Court has held the State liable to pay ₹30 lakh as compensation to the families of two labourers who died while cleaning a septic tank at a private residence in Nanded district in 2021.
A division bench of Justices Nitin Suryawanshi and Vaishali Patil-Jadhav ruled that the State’s liability for compensation in manual scavenging deaths is not contingent on whether the deceased were employed by government bodies or private individuals. The Court cited Supreme Court orders in Safai Karamchari Andolan and Balram Singh to affirm that the State’s financial liability applies irrespective of the place of work or the nature of the employer.
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