SC seeks affidavit on trafficking of bonded labourers from ministry

The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the secretary of the Ministry of Labour and Employment to file an affidavit giving details of 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 what further directions were required from the apex court in the matter. The top court was hearing a petition seeking enforcement of fundamental rights of people trafficked as bonded labourers.

Attorney General R Venkataramani, who was earlier requested by the apex court to assist it in the matter, told the bench that quite a few developments have taken place.

“Why don’t you ask one of the secretaries to file an affidavit,” the bench told Venkataramani.

The bench noted the attorney general has placed a note before it, which reflected the action taken by the ministry and also about the status of the scheme.

“We feel it would be appropriate that an affidavit is filed by the secretary of the Ministry of Labour and Employment,” the bench said, adding that the affidavit be filed within three weeks.

“The affidavit will also indicate what further directions are required from this court so that appropriate orders can be passed on the next date,” the bench said and posted the matter for hearing on May 19.

Senior advocate H S Phoolka, appearing in the matter, said around 11,000 children were rescued from different states but only 971 of them were paid immediate financial assistance.

While hearing the matter in November 2024, the top court had said the secretary of the ministry should convene a meeting with their counterparts from all the states and Union Territories to come out with a proposal which addresses the issue regarding inter-state trafficking and grant of release certificate.

It had directed that the proposal should also include a simplified procedure that would effectively implement the scheme providing immediate financial assistance to rescued bonded labourers, including children.

It had also directed the Centre to take the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on board while finalising the procedure.

The apex court had observed the problem was in the disbursal of immediate financial assistance to the rescued children as in some cases minors were taken from their home states and forced into bonded labour in adjoining states.

In July 2022, the apex court agreed to hear the petition and sought responses from the Centre, the NHRC and some states and UTs.

One of the petitioners claimed that he and some other bonded workers were rescued and released on February 28, 2019 from a brick kiln in Shahjahanpur district in Uttar Pradesh before being trafficked by an unregistered contractor from their native villages in Bihar’s Gaya district.

The petitioner claimed he and his fellow workers were forced to work without the payment of minimum statutory wages and their fundamental rights to movement and employment were severely curtailed.