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The Supreme Court has issued contempt notices to the Chief Secretaries of 15 states in a case related to manual sewer cleaning and manual scavenging, questioning why contempt proceedings should not be initiated for failing to prevent deaths caused by the practice.
A Bench of Justice Arvind Sharma and Justice Vipul M Pancholi issued notices to the Chief Secretaries of Delhi, Bihar, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
The Court directed all officials to file their responses by affidavit within four weeks and explain why the Court should not initiate contempt proceedings against them.
The matter concerns a public interest litigation filed by Dr Balram.
The Supreme Court had earlier, in October 2023, directed authorities to eliminate the practice of manual scavenging and manual sewer cleaning.
During the hearing, the amicus curiae informed the Court that deaths linked to manual scavenging have continued despite the Supreme Court’s directions.
According to the report presented before the Bench, 54 deaths recorded in 2024 and 46 deaths in 2025.
The amicus stated that Maharashtra reported 17 deaths, Tamil Nadu 12, and Rajasthan 13 during 2024.
Previous Directions
The Court recalled that during an earlier hearing it had sought details from authorities on measures to curb manual sewer cleaning and manual scavenging. It had also directed the Municipal Commissioner of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, the Director of the Delhi Jal Board, and the Managing Director of the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board to appear before the Court.
Earlier, senior advocate Parameshwar, appearing as amicus curiae, informed the Court that 40 people died while cleaning sewers and septic tanks in 2024, and no FIRs followed in any of the cases.
In 2023, the Supreme Court had directed the Centre, states and Union Territories to frame policies and take measures to ensure the phased elimination of manual sewer cleaning across the country.
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