New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Secretary, Ministry of Labor and Employment to file an affidavit detailing the action taken to address the issue of inter-state trafficking of bonded labourers, including minors.
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta said the affidavit should also indicate the additional directions sought from the Supreme Court in the matter.
The Supreme Court was hearing a petition seeking to enforce the fundamental rights of people trafficked as bonded labourers.
Attorney General R Venkataramani, whose assistance the Supreme Court had earlier sought in the matter, told the bench that there have been some developments.
“Why don’t you ask one of the secretaries to file an affidavit,” the bench told Venkataramani.
The court indicated that the Attorney General had placed before it a memorandum reflecting the action taken by the Ministry as well as the status of the scheme.
“We feel it would be appropriate for an affidavit to be filed by the Secretary of the Department of Labor and Employment,” the board said, adding that the affidavit would be filed within three weeks.
“The affidavit will also indicate the additional directions sought from this court so that appropriate orders can be passed on the next date,” the bench said and sent the matter for hearing on May 19.
Senior advocate HS Phoolka, appearing in the case, said about 11,000 children were rescued from different states, but only 971 of them received immediate financial assistance.
While hearing the matter in November 2024, the apex court said the secretary should hold a meeting with their counterparts from all states and union territories to come out with a proposal addressing the issue related to inter-state trafficking and grant release certificate.
It directed that the proposal also include a simplified procedure that would effectively implement the scheme providing immediate financial assistance to rescued bonded labourers, including children.
It also directed the Center to involve the National Human Rights Commission while finalizing the procedure.
The Supreme Court noted that the problem was disbursement of immediate financial assistance to the rescued children, as in some cases minors were taken from their home states and forced into forced labor in neighboring states.
In July 2022, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the petition and sought responses from the Centre, the National Human Rights Commission and some states and union territories.
One of the petitioners claimed that he and some other bonded laborers were rescued and released on February 28, 2019 from a brick kiln in Shahjahanpur district of Uttar Pradesh before being trafficked by an unregistered contractor from their native villages in Gaya district of Bihar.
The petitioner claimed that he and his fellow workers were forced to work without being paid the legal minimum wage, and their basic rights to movement and work were severely restricted.
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