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The Delhi High Court Tuesday issued notices to the Delhi Development Authority, the Delhi Police and the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis after taking suo motu note of a September 11 news report which stated that a sweeper and a security guard had died while cleaning a sewer in Mundka.
During the last hearing, the division bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad had ordered registration of a public interest litigation on the case, issued notice to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), the Chief Secretary of the Delhi government and the Delhi Jal Board (DJB). It had also appointed senior advocate Rajshekhar Rao as amicus curiae in the matter.
On Tuesday, the court asked the counsel for DJB and MCD whether their clients were liable to pay compensation to the family of the deceased or grant appointment to their legal heirs. The counsel for DJB submitted that “the locality is a DDA locality and is under the supervision of the body…”, adding that the DJB is not liable to pay compensation or grant appointment. The counsel for MCD also submitted that the MCD is not liable.
Senior advocate Rajshekhar Rao, the amicus curiae, submitted a compilation of relevant judgments and statutes and submitted that the court is seized of two matters, including a PIL wherein in 2017, it had passed detailed directions asking the state and various authorities to tell the court what steps they had taken with respect to manual scavenging.
“Today the prohibition is on engaging anyone without a license, and for manual scavenging. The Delhi Jal Board at the very least should then have a list of persons who can do that job… The statute authorises the Delhi Jal Board to sub-contract. The law is quite clear… it is the state who is responsible,” Rao submitted.
On the last date of hearing, Chief Justice Sharma had observed that “there is a Supreme Court judgment on the subject which says the moment the death takes place of a person who was manually doing this scavenging work, the family is entitled to Rs 10 lakh immediately and a job to one of the member of the family”. The matter is next listed on September 27.
The two men died after being trapped in a sewer while it was being cleaned in Outer district’s Bakkarwala. The incident took place on September 9 at a DDA apartment complex in Pocket D, Loknayak Puram. Police said the victims were identified as Rohit Chandilya (32), a private sweeper who worked at the complex, and Ashok, a guard with the DDA who tried to rescue Chandilya.
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