Observing that it is unfortunate that the persons employed to do the work in a sewer hole lost their lives, the Madhya Pradesh High Court has taken suo motu cognisance of the continuing manual scavenging in the state after the recent death of two workers in Gwalior.

While issuing notice to the State, the bench of Chief Justice Ravi Malimath and Justice Vishal Mishra said:

“Even though there are various enactments and orders of the court to provide them appropriate care and protection, we find that number of people lose their lives for various reasons.”

The court has directed the State to respond by four weeks. Recently, the Supreme Court had directed the Union of India to place on record the steps taken by it to prevent the employment of manual scavengers.

According to a PTI report dated June 15, two contract workers engaged in cleaning a sewage line in Resham Mill area died of asphyxiation after entering a manhole.

The Prohibition Of Employment As Manual Scavengers and Their Rehabilitation Act, 2013 prohibits manual scavenging in India. The Act was enacted “to correct the historical injustice and indignity suffered by the manual scavengers, and to rehabilitate them to a life of dignity.”

Case Title: In Reference v. The State of Madhya Pradesh

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