In a significant ruling, the Delhi High Court has directed city authorities to provide a compensation of Rs. 30 lakh each to the families of 3 manual scavengers who tragically died while cleaning a drain in 2017.
Justice Sachin Datta issued the order. He mandated that the payment should be made within eight weeks.
The court was addressing a plea filed by the kin of the deceased sanitation workers.
A sub-contractor of the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) employed these workers.
Among the petitioners were the widow of one manual scavenger and the brothers of another.
The petitioners argued for an increase in compensation to 30 lakh. He stated they had initially received Rs. 10 lakh at the time of the workers’ deaths.
A Supreme Court ruling in Balram Singh v. Union of India bolstered their plea. It directed an enhancement of compensation for families of deceased manual scavengers to Rs. 30 lakh.
Justice Datta emphasized that the Supreme Court’s directives are applicable to the DJB and any agencies engaged by the DJB in sewage-related work across Delhi.
The court stressed that limiting the compensation to Rs. 10 lakh would be unjust and contrary to the Supreme Court’s mandate.
Justice Datta noted, “Confining the entitlement of the family members of the deceased scavenging workers to Rs. 10 lakh will be a travesty. It will also defeat the directions of the Supreme Court.”
The order specifies that Petitioner No 1, the sole surviving legal heir of the deceased worker Lt. Sh. Annu, be paid Rs. 30 lakh.
Additionally, Petitioner Nos. 2 and 3, two of the three surviving brothers of another deceased worker, are entitled to a proportionate share of the Rs. 30 lakh compensation.
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