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On Wednesday, the Supreme Court took notice of a petition complaining that the District magistrates of Sambhal in UP and Rohtas in Bihar did not take proper action to help 187 bonded labourers, even when the Nation Human Rights Commission ordered them to do so on 11th of May.
A bench led by Justice L. Nageswara Rao in a video-conference hearing issued a notice to both of the states and ordered the District Magistrates to take immediate action and file a report on the actions taken to free the bonded labourers. The court has scheduled a hearing on this matter on June 9th.
Social activist Zahid Hussain filled a writ petition to seek a direction of the court regarding the matter. He was represented by senior advocate Anitha Shenoy and advocate Srishti Agnihotri. Mr Hussain stated in her petition that the victims included a pregnant woman, children and even infants.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the eventual nation-wide lockdown, the migrant labourers are suffering a lot because of lack of food supplies, restrictions in movement, lack of healthcare and non-payment of wages and very limited access to law enforcement. The pandemic has severely affected the conditions of the bonded labourers.
The petition has brought out the reality behind this matter that millions of adults and children suffer through enslavement by scourge even after the enactment of the Bonded Labour Abolition Act in 1976.
The petitioner stated that he is claiming the rights of the victims on their behalf after due diligence and collecting intelligence on crime linkages of traffickers, their source and other factors with the help of a civil society organization.
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