SC notice to NHRC on PIL by trafficked man who worked as 'bonded labourer'

The Supreme Court on Monday sought responses from the Centre, the National Human Rights Commission and seven states and union territories to a PIL seeking enforcement of fundamental rights of people trafficked as bonded workers'.

A bench of Justices Indira Banerjee and V Ramasubramanian took note of the ordeal of petitioner Surendhra Manjhi who along with others was forced to work as bonded worker at a brick kiln in Shahjahanpur district of Uttar Pradesh.

The bench issued notices to the central government, NHRC, besides Maharashtra, Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Chandigarh and sought their replies within six weeks.

Manjhi, in his plea filed through lawyer Srishti Agnihotri, said he and other such workers were rescued and released on February 28, 2019 from a brick kiln at Shahjahanpur to where they were trafficked by an unregistered contractor from their native village in Bihar's Gaya district.

The plea said Manjhi and his fellow workers were forced to work without the payment of minimum statutory wages and their fundamental rights to movement and employment were severely curtailed.