Supreme Court judge remarks on bonded labour unsavoury and out of place

Published : Sep 22, 2022 10:30 IST Justice Hemant Gupta of the Supreme Court has been in the news for the wrong reasons. Traffic in human beings and begar and other similar forms of forced labour are prohibited, and any contravention of this provision shall be an offence punishable in accordance with law.” Before making such offensive remarks, the judge, who comes from Punjab and has extensive experience as a lawyer and judge, ought to have not only read Article 23 but the elaborate discussion that took place in the Constituent Assembly before it incorporated the said provision. It is therefore necessary to impress upon the administration that it does not help to ostrich-like bury its head in the sand and ignore the prevalence of bonded labour, for it is not the existence of bonded labour that is a slur on the administration but its failure to eradicate it, and moreover not taking the necessary steps for the purpose of wiping out this blot on the fair name of the State is a breach of its constitutional obligation.” Thereafter, numerous petitions were filed from different States, and in each case, the Supreme Court did not make light of the existence of bonded labour but directed State governments to frame rules and implement the Act. While reversing the view expressed earlier, the Supreme Court said as follows: “To treat SCs and STs as persons who are prone to lodge false reports under the provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Act for taking revenge or otherwise as monetary benefits made available to them in the case of their being subjected to such offence, would be against fundamental human equality. “It is an unfortunate state of affairs that the caste system still prevails in the country and people remain in slums, more particularly, under skyscrapers, and they serve the inhabitants of such buildings.” After the statement by Justice Hemant Gupta on the bonded labour system, one is reminded of the famous quote from Tolstoy: “The abolition of slavery has gone on for a long time.