Supreme Court orders uniform bonded labour rescue and rehabilitation rules

The Supreme Court has said the constitutional ban on bonded labour and the laws meant to enforce it cannot remain assurances on paper, news agency Press Trust of India reported. It said the State's responsibility does not end with rescuing bonded labourers and must include timely financial support and meaningful rehabilitation.

The court directed the Centre to implement a standard operating procedure for enforcing the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976, and the applicable rehabilitation scheme across the country within six months. It also directed states and Union Territories to take the necessary steps to implement the procedure and comply with its directions within the same period.

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Aparesh Kumar Singh said the prohibition of bonded labour was among the most fundamental guarantees of human dignity under the Constitution. The State's obligation extended beyond securing the physical freedom of bonded labourers to ensuring that they had the means to lead a dignified life, it said.

The bench said those rescued from exploitation could be forced by economic hardship to return to the same conditions unless their freedom was supported by timely financial assistance and effective rehabilitation.

"The constitutional prohibition against bonded labour and the statutory measures enacted to enforce it cannot remain mere assurances on paper. The release of a bonded labourer cannot be treated as the completion of the State's obligation when the conditions necessary for a life of dignity remain unfulfilled," the court said.

It said the identification, release and rehabilitation of bonded labourers must be treated as connected stages of the State's continuing constitutional responsibility. The court issued several directions while hearing two petitions seeking the enforcement of the constitutional obligations of the authorities concerned.

According to PTI, the petitions highlighted delays in providing immediate financial assistance to rescued bonded labourers and shortcomings in the systems responsible for identifying and rehabilitating them.

The court directed that immediate financial assistance available under the rehabilitation scheme should ordinarily be paid within seven days of the issue of a release certificate, subject to the necessary verification. It said such assistance should not be withheld merely because an investigation or criminal proceedings were pending if the other requirements of the scheme had been met.

The bench said timely rehabilitation was essential because a person released from bonded labour was often left without an independent source of livelihood and remained vulnerable to further exploitation. "Financial assistance intended to address immediate needs loses much of its purpose when its disbursement is delayed for months or years," it said.

The court referred to the case of petitioner Surendra Manjhi, who was rescued in 2019 but received immediate financial assistance only in 2022. It noted that 17 other labourers rescued with Manjhi had still not received the assistance.

The Supreme Court directed the Centre to decide within three months on proposed changes to the rehabilitation scheme. These include increasing immediate financial assistance, simplifying rehabilitation procedures, clarifying responsibilities in cases involving more than one state, and providing interim subsistence assistance when rehabilitation benefits are delayed.

Until the changes take effect, payments will continue to be governed by the existing scheme, the court said. "Mere liberation from bondage, without adequate arrangements for rehabilitation, would fail to secure the constitutional guarantees under Articles 21 and 23 of the Constitution," it added.

The bench said the duty to eradicate bonded labour was a continuing obligation. The effectiveness of the legal protections depended not only on their existence but also on their implementation to ensure timely relief, meaningful rehabilitation and protection against a return to exploitation.

The court asked the Centre to issue supplementary guidelines in consultation with the NHRC within three months. It said there must be a uniform procedure for promptly verifying complaints of bonded labour, ordinarily within 24 hours, followed by a swift rescue wherever necessary.

"The Union of India shall also prescribe a uniform format for release certificates, which shall be recognised by all States and Union Territories, so that differences in administrative requirements do not obstruct the rehabilitation of rescued labourers," the court said. It also stressed the importance of coordination between states in the rescue and repatriation of bonded labourers.

The matter will be heard again after seven months to review compliance. The directions require the Centre, states and Union Territories to establish uniform procedures for identifying and rescuing bonded labourers and ensuring that they receive prompt financial assistance and rehabilitation.- Ends