ISSUE:
The Supreme Court validate the letter written by the petitioners as a writ petition filed under Article 32 of the Constitution and therefore expanded the scope of Public Interest Litigation in India.
The Supreme Court directed the union government to identify all the bonded workers and provide them with alternative work; ensure that operators and owners of mines and quarries implement labour laws and give access to sufficient medical attention, security schemes and houses to the workers.
The Supreme Court held that mere technical trivial issues must not be in the way of one’s access to justice in the country.
The Supreme Court held that bonded labor falls in the category of forced labor as per Article 23 of the Constitution and any financial restriction that drives one for such a work is a violation of their fundamental right.
The Supreme Court expanded the scope of Article 21 and held that right to living life with dignity, right to work in humane environment, right to health are all part of right to life and therefore the situation reported in the present case is a direct violation of all those right.
The Supreme Court held that the state government did not fulfill its responsibility of supervising that labor laws were complied with.