Death due to manual scavenging: Delhi HC issues notice to deceased sanitation worker’s wife in plea against enhanced compensation

A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora issued notice to the deceased worker’s wife, while asking the government to pay the enhanced amount to her.

“The appellants, without prejudice to their rights and contentions, are directed to pay the enhanced amount to the respondent within six weeks,” the bench said.

“You pay the amount. We’ll see,” the bench orally said to the standing counsel for the Delhi government Santosh Kumar Tripathi.

The woman had first approached the single judge bench of the High Court claiming that she was the widow of a sewer cleaner who was performing the work of manual scavenging.

She had relied on the Supreme Court’s decision in Balram Singh v Union of India and Ors, wherein the apex court had passed directions to be implemented by the Centre and all state governments.

Apart from the enhancement of compensation, the woman had also sought full rehabilitation, including employment to her, education for her children, and skill training, in terms of the apex court’s decision.

The single judge bench in its November order after considering the facts and circumstances of the case had said that the apex court’s decision will apply “mutatis mutandis” to the facts of the woman’s case and directed that it be implemented within two months from the date of the order.

“The writ petition is disposed of with a direction to the State Government to implement the said judgment in the present case also,” the single judge bench had said.

Challenging this decision, the government in its appeal has claimed that the single judge bench has sought to apply a judgment of the apex court that would not apply to the facts of the present case as compensation of Rs 10 Lakh already stood paid in 2017.

The appeal filed by advocate Udit Malik states that the observations of the Supreme Court in the Balram Singh case would not be applicable in the present case as the “intention of paying enhanced compensation amount is only applicable to a case where no compensation has been paid till date”.

“The revised compensation amount from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 30 lakhs is increased taking into consideration the prevailing inflation,” the appeal submits. The matter is next listed in October.

In its decision on the aspect of compensation, the Supreme Court had said, “The court hereby directs the Union and the States to ensure that the compensation for sewer deaths is increased (given that the previous amount fixed, ie, Rs. 10 lakh) was made applicable from 1993. The current equivalent of that amount is Rs. 30 lakh”.

“This shall be the amount to be paid, by the concerned agency, i.e., the Union, the Union Territory or the State as the case may be. In other words, compensation for sewer deaths shall be Rs. 30 lakh. In the event that the dependents of any victim have not been paid such an amount, the above amount shall be payable to them. Furthermore, this shall be the amount to be hereafter paid, as compensation,” the Supreme Court said.