The Aurangabad Bench of the Bombay High Court has ruled that the State of Maharashtra must compensate the families of manual scavengers with ₹30 lakh, even if the deceased were employed by private individuals rather than government bodies. This landmark decision was made in the case of Sharda Maroti Chopwad & Anr v. State of Maharashtra & Ors., reflecting a significant interpretation of existing Supreme Court directives.
A division bench comprising Justices Nitin Suryawanshi and Vaishali Patil-Jadhav cited precedent from the Supreme Court, which mandates that the State bears financial responsibility for fatalities resulting from manual scavenging, regardless of whether the employment was by private parties. The court referenced its prior decision in the Vimla Govind Chorotiya case, emphasizing that the directives from the Supreme Court’s order dated March 27, 2014, in Safai Karamchari Andolan and Balram Singh apply universally, not just to government engagements.
The court underscored that while the State is obligated to pay compensation, it retains the right to recover these funds from the private individuals who engaged the manual scavengers. The judges expressed grave concern over the persistence of manual scavenging, labeling it a tragic failure to eradicate an inhumane practice from society.
The judgment was delivered in response to a petition by the families of two laborers who perished in 2021 while cleaning a septic tank at a private residence in Nanded district. The laborers, lacking proper authorization and safety equipment, died from asphyxia and drowning, as confirmed by post-mortem reports. Legal proceedings were initiated against the homeowners under the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013 (PEMSR Act).
Despite an agreement from the homeowner to pay ₹2 lakh each, plus ₹50,000 for funeral expenses, the families only received partial payment. In October 2023, seeking justice, the bereaved families approached the District Collector for compensation in accordance with the Supreme Court’s ruling in Safai Karamchari Andolan v. Union of India. When the compensation was not forthcoming, they appealed to the High Court for enforcement under the PEMSR Act.
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The State contended, based on a 2019 government resolution, that financial liability should rest with the private employer. Nevertheless, the bench reaffirmed the Supreme Court’s position that the State is financially accountable for such deaths, irrespective of who employed the scavengers. “This court finds that the State is liable to pay compensation of ₹30 lakh each,” the bench concluded, reiterating that recovery from the private employer is permissible.
Advocates Abha Singh and Avinash M Reddy represented the families of the deceased laborers, while Additional Government Pleader PK Lakhotiya appeared for the State. Advocate GR Ingole represented the private homeowner.
