New Delhi, Jan 29 (UNI) The Supreme Court has clarified that its order raising compensation for deaths due to manual scavenging and sewer cleaning to Rs 30 lakh will apply to older cases too, if compensation has not yet been fixed or paid.
In its Balram judgment of October 2023, the Court had increased the compensation amount from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 30 lakh for such deaths.
The clarification came after the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) moved an application before the Apex Court.
NALSA said that different High Courts were taking different views on how much compensation should be paid. For example, the Madras High Court awarded Rs 10 lakh in one case, while the Delhi High Court granted Rs 30 lakh in another.
NALSA pointed out that two interpretations were emerging. One held that families of victims who died before October 20, 2023, and were already paid Rs 10 lakh, should get an additional amount of Rs 20 lakh. The other view was that no extra amount should be paid if compensation had already been disbursed.
A Bench comprising Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice P B Varale, in an order passed on January 20, settled the issue. The Court clarified that cases in which compensation has already been determined and paid will not be reopened. However, if the death occurred before the October 2023 judgment and compensation has not been fixed or paid, Rs 30 lakh must be awarded.
The Bench also expressed concern over the lack of progress in filling vacant posts in the National Safai Karamcharis Commission. It noted that the union Government, through Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, had assured the Court that the posts would be filled before March 2025. However, no steps have been taken so far.
After ASG Bhati sought time and assured that an affidavit with a clear timeline would be filed within two days, the Court allowed the application.
The Court further directed that a related case, where Rs 30 lakh compensation has been claimed for a death that occurred before October 2023, be placed before the Chief Justice of India for appropriate orders.
The order was passed in a writ petition filed by Asha, the widow of a sewer cleaner who died on July 1, 2022, after inhaling poisonous gas while cleaning a septic tank. She stated that she has not received any compensation, even though the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis had passed an order in her favour in August 2023.
Asha has sought compensation under the October 2023 Supreme Court ruling, which clearly directed that Rs 30 lakh should be paid for every sewer or manual scavenging death, and that the amount must be given to families who have not yet received compensation.
SC clarifies Rs 30 lakh compensation for manual scavenging deaths
