INTRODUCTION

The phenomenon of bonded labor is a vicious circle where each factor is responsible forn its
destruction and apathy of bonded labor. Its origin is relic of colonial and feudal system due to
which it is still rooting in our customs and which is treating it as a normal practice. This has
resulted in a hierarchal pattern of society forming unequal classes in terms of superiority and
inferiority. The higher class has started committing all types of violence on lower caste. As the
debtor has nothing to offer as security, the creditor demanded that he pledges his person and
work for the creditor in lieu of the redemption of debt and interest. This0guarantees permanent
cheap labor to the money lenders.
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What is bonded labour?

The simple definition of bonded labour is that it is a practice Bonded labour is a form of
slavery where a person and his successors are made to work for the creditor against lending of a loan,
in case of failure to pay back, until the loan is repaid. The people who are engaged in the system are
made to work hard at unreasonable wages. It is called Bandhua Mazdoori.

This system is clasiisfied as unfair trade practice wshere money lender charge high loans along with
short wages. It is widely found in urban pockets such as brick klins, stone quarries and coal mining etc.
The time period is not fixed.This agreement is indefinite bonded labour result in undeniable loss of
freedom and curtailment of rights.

 The main0Act0prohibiting bonded labour is Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976 which
is an extension0of Article023 (Fundamental Rights) of The0Constitution0of0India
prohibiting forced labour.

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Indian Constitution
 0

The0most0important0Article 21 of the Constitution of India guarantees the right to life and

liberty. The Indian Supreme Court has interpreted the right of liberty to include, among other
things, the right of free movement, the right to eat, sleep and work when one pleases and
degrading treatment, the right to integrity and dignity of the person, the right to the benefits of
protective labor legislation, and the right to speedy justice. The practice of bonded labour
violates all of these rights.
Article 23 of the constitution prohibits the practice of bonded laabour and any other forms
of slavery both modern and ancient.
Article 23 of the Constitution prohibits the practice of debt bondage and other forms of slavery
both modern and ancient.
Under Article 42. Provision for just and humane conditions of work and maternity relief - The State shall
make provision for securing just and humane conditions of work and for maternity relief.

Under Article 43. Living wage, etc. for workers - The State shall endeavour to secure, by suitable
legislation or economic organization or in any other way, to all workers, agricultural, industrial or
otherwise, work and living wage, conditions of work ensuring a decent standard of life and full
enjoyment of leisure and social and cultural opportunities and, in particular the State shall endeavour to
promote cottage industrial on an individual or co-operative basis in rural areas.

Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976

After many years later in the yaer of 1975 by passing an ordinance bonded labour was
abolished.Which later become Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act in 1976,.Before the
formin fof ordinace the effort were only at regional level in some states of india like
bihar,orissa,Madras and rajisthan.

According to a report formulated by Commission of SC and SR, these legislations were a great
failure and finally in 1975, a twenty point programme was promulgated to abolish the system of
bonded labour which came into force in 1976. The Act anticipates freeing all bonded labourers,
annulling their debts, finding rehabilitative measures and punishing the offenders

Salient features

 The Act came into force on 25 October, 1975 and extends to whole of India and is
implemented by respective states according to their discretion. It comprises of 10
sections.
 It has been established with an objective to provide for the abolition of bonded labour
system and prevent economic and physical exploitation of the weaker sections.
 The Act has overriding effect and anything inconsistent with this Act does not have
enforcing effect and shall be abolished.
 According to Sections 4 and 5, bonded labour is strictly abolished and any custom or
agreement related to the same has been made void and inoperative.
 Every labourer is free from his liability to pay debt and is discharged of all his
obligations to render bonded labour. No person can institute any proceeding in any court
to recovery of debt. No creditor can accept payment against extinguished debt.
 If the creditor took any property under the system, the same has to be restored to the
possessor from whom it was seized. Property of the bonded labourer to be freed from
mortgage, etc.
 Every bonded labour who has been detained under the system has to be released.
 Under Section 10 of the Act, the state government have been conferred with powers to
impose duty on magistrate of the district to ensure the enforcement of the Act. The Act
provides for an institutional mechanism in the form of Vigilance Committees which guide
the District Magistrate.
The Supreme Court too, in the case of Neerja Chaudhury v. State of Madhya Pradesh, observed
that bonded labourers must be identified and released and suitably rehabilitated.

Progress under the Act

Success

The act has helped a lot of people from the cluthes of this draconian system which is
harmfull in its nature

It has helped to improve the economic condition of the people who were burdened with
loans or unfair trade practice.

The act has also helped in successful integration of rescued labour back in mainstream
society.

Failure

 Bonded labour continues to be a significant problem in India due to poor

implementation of Acts and policies.
o By establishing district-level Vigilance Committees for those who do not take
their duties seriously and there are various lacunas in their functioning.
o There is lack of awareness among people especially in rural area people
o The rescue and rehabilitation of workers in not very effective due to lack of
adequate services and facilities.
o The Act does not take into consideration children and their rights.


JUDICIAL INTERPRETATION

The Hon'ble Supreme Court of India has from time to time interpreted various constitutional
provisions to safeguard the weaker strata of society against the menace of bonded labour. Some
of them are enlisted below for kind consideration.

PEOPLES' UNION FOR DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS V. UNION OF INDIA3 ,

The petitioner commissioned three social scientists to enquire into the conditions under
which the workman worked in Asiad projects. On the basis of the investigation which was
done by the social scientist,petitioners send a letter addressed to justice P.N Bhagwati.In
respect of the letter the Hon’ble Supreme court took notice of the letter on the judicial side
and later issued a notice to State of Delhi and Union of India.
It was held by the court that ,”The union of india, the Delhi Administration and the delhi
development Authority cannot escape from the obligation to ntheir respective workmen
from observance of the provisions of various labourc law by its contractors and forf non
-compliance with the llaws by the contractor,there is clear caused of saction against them
as principal employ’.

The Hon’ble Supreme Court of India dealt with the expression "other similar form of forced
bonded labour" envisaged in Article 23 of The Constitution of India, 1950. The court gave the
expression a wide interpretation to meet the objectives of Article 23. The court held that a
person who has been forced to work as a bonded labour and person who is working as a labour
at a rate lesser than the minimum wage shall be dealt equally.

BADHUA MUKTI MORCHA V. UNION OF INDIA5 ,

The PIL was filed before the supreme court under article 32 of the constitution of
india to issue appropriate directions for prohibition of bonded labour.a survey
was conducted a survey in stone quarries situated Faridabad district.It is found
by the petitioner that they were living in harsh condition.It was found out that
there were middlemen who extracted the money from the workmen commission.

It was ordered by the court to the central government and the state of Haryana
to install washroom, suitable drinking water, give medical facilities to raise the
standard of living. It was directed to central government to conduct inspection
evry fortnight and in case, if the workmen found in any disressed condition, he
should be provided medical and legal assistance.

The court went to observe that ,this rights to live with human dignity enshrined
in article 21 derives its life breath from the DPSP Clauses (e) and (f) of Article 39
and Articles 41 and 42, include protection of the health and strength of workers men
and women, and of the tender age of children against abuse, opportunities and
facilities for children to develop in a healthy manner and in conditions of freedom
and dignity, educational facilities, just and humane conditions of work and maternity
relief. These are the minimum requirements which must exist in order to enable a
person to live with human dignity and no State neither the Central Government nor
any State Government has the right to take any action which will deprive a person
of the enjoyment of these basic essentials."

NEERJA CHAUDHARY V. STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH

It has been alleged by the petitioner that due to long time has been elapsed ,quite
a number of laborers rescued from Faridabad quarries have not been
rehabilitated.It was conteneded by the petioner that the the state government has
a duty to take care of the laboureres who has been rescued andx their
rehabilitation is necessary so as to ensure life to life guaranteed to them under
the constitution of india,1950.

The Hon'ble court held that as per the requirements of Article 21 and 23, the bonded labourers
need to be identified, rescued and also rehabilitated. The court highlighted the importance of
rehabilitation observing that in absence of any concrete measures for rehabilitation of rescued
labourers, they would be driven into the state of poverty and substandard conditions again and it
might lead them to the bonded labour system again.

Role of The National Human Rights Commission

The0Apex0Court0has directed that the National Human Rights Commission (N.H.R.C.) should
be involved in dealing with the issue of bonded labour. In pursuance to the above order, a
Central Action Group has been constituted in the N.H.R.C. This Group is holding regular
meetings and the matter is being pursued with the State Governments.

In Bandhuwa Mukti Morcha case[16] also the Supreme Court had issued certain directions to the
Central Government, the State of Haryana and various authorities. In order to ensure compliance
of the above directions, Ministry of Labour constituted a Task Force, comprising of officers of
the Central and the Government of Haryana who are responsible for enforcement of various
labour laws. The Task Force was required to undertake periodic visits and inspections of the
Stone Quarries and Crushers to ascertain facts about working and living conditions of the
workers. The Task Force is carrying out its assignment regularly and submitting reports to the
Central as well as the State Government indicating therein status of compliance on the part of the
concerned authorities with the statutory provisions and the directions of the Supreme Court.
SUGGESTION
1. Carry out comprehensive and independent national surveys to identify the total number of
bonded labourers in the country. These surveys should include breakdowns of dalit bonded
labourers and those who have to provide forced labour for landlords (begar).
2. All local and national officials responsible for implementing the bonded labourlaws (including
District Magistrates, Vigilance Committees, the police, etc.) must be properly trained and
function effectively, so that they actively seek out cases of bonded labourand ensure immediate
release and rehabilitation, in compliance with the law.
3. Prosecutions must be initiated against all those who use bonded labourand against those who
use intimidation and violence to retain people as bonded labourers. The number of successful
convictions and sentences passed should be published, by state, on a regular basis.
4. Pressure states and districts to constitute and oversee bonded labour vigilance committees, as
required by the Bonded Labour (System) Abolition Act, 1976.
5. Ensure the active involvement of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Commission in
the process of identifying, releasing, and rehabilitating bonded child laborers.
6. Launch a nationwide public awareness campaign regarding the legal prohibition of bonded
labor. This campaign should explain in simple terms what actions are legally prohibited and what
recourses and resources are available to bonded child laborers and their families.

Preventing the occurrence/recurrence of debt bondage

Landless agricultural labourers, sharecroppers, persons below poverty line level,
who are landless and assetless, migrant workers, etc., turn to moneylenders and
other middlemen for loan/debt/advance partly for survival and partly for
ceremonial and other miscellaneous needs. In the process they get indebted and
bonded to their creditors due to their inability to repay the loan, which gets
compounded due to usurious rates of interest. Debt bondage is 100per cent
preventable and can be prevented.
Enforcement of the law on minimum wage and strengthening the
public distribution system-
Minimum wage is the rock bottom subsistence wage below which no industry or
employer should pay. The Apex Court of India, in a judgment in the Asiad
Worker’s case in April 1982, held that the denial of minimum wage amounts to
the existence of forced labour. The Apex Court, in the subsequent judgment
(Reptacos Brett Co. Case), laid down elaborate norms and criteria that should be
kept in mind by the Government when fixing minimum wages. These have
reinforced the importance of the earlier observation. As a matter of fact, the Apex
Court has held in another judgment that an establishment that cannot pay
minimum wage has no right to exist.

Legislative aspects Review and enforcement of the law relating to

credit
Moneylending/0throughthe0traditional channels is one of the most abhorrent
practices in India today. The transaction is conducted under unequal exchange
terms, is veiled in secrecy and without any transparency. This is true both before
a person gets into the status of debt bondage and, ironically, even truer after a
person has been released from debt bondage, since in the absence of any other
alternative institutional mechanism, he/she has to turn to the same moneylender
of the village. To ensure that the freed bonded labourers remain free forever and
do not slide back into debt bondage, the vice-like grip of the moneylenders has to
be completely broken. This can be done partly through stringent enforcement of
the provisions of the law relating to moneylenders on the one hand, and by
largely mobilizing and organizing the freed bonded labourers into cooperatives on
the other. Gaps and omissions in the existing law need to be corrected to make
moneylending a credible and transparent transaction. Simultaneously, the freed
bonded labourers need to be mobilized and organized into cooperatives to
liberate them fully from the clutches of moneylenders.

9.The role of NGOs

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NGOs should always be viewed as important partners and collaborators of government. Such a
partnership should flow naturally and spontaneously from both sides. In the context of
eliminating forced labour, the Government should invite NGOs for an open dialogue to plan a
joint strategy instead of expecting NGOs to approach the Government for a partnership role.
There are a number of good, reliable and committed NGOs which are largely non-political or
apolitical and are based in remote, interior and inaccessible areas, and which have been working
unremittingly to establish the much-needed outreach to the deprived and neglected cross sections
of society (such as the bonded labourers), carrying hope, faith and conviction to them.
The role that such NGOs can play in eliminating forced/bonded labour can be outlined as
follows:
Only such NGOs that have the correct understanding of the phenomenon of forced/bonded
labour and which are willing to work in the direction of the elimination of such labour should be
selected. The help of NGOs of repute and standing at the national and state level should be taken
into account in the selection of such NGOs,such NGOs should be willing to adopt an area
specific, time-bound, need-based, cost-effective and result-oriented approach,they can help the
process of creating associations/groups of already identified and released bonded labourers and
involve them in the task of identification,they can also mobilize SC and ST students and
specially those from the landless agricultural labour families.Students of the above
categories who also have a rural background should be first thoroughly trained and
actively associated with the work of identifying bonded labourers as well as with that of
organizing the work of relief and rehabilitation,the rural labour training camps being
organized by the VV Giri National Labour Institute should be utilized for providing the
right type of orientation to the student volunteers in handling the delicate task of identifying
bonded labour systems,training of the student volunteers should primarily focus on the
methodology of conducting a survey in areas where forced/compulsory/bonded labour is
endemic on the basis of existing reports in a discrete and circumspect manner. All such
surveys should be preceded by confidential inquiries in the neighbourhood through interaction
with members of the local community in a non-intensive manner;–while undertaking the survey
with the help of student volunteers, the NGOs are likely to incur the wrath of vested interests.
To counter this, the NGOs would need the support of the representatives of the people,
i.e. MPs,MLAs,MLCs, members of local self-governing bodies, functionaries of all
development departments, as well as that of officials of the law enforcement machinery. This
would involve a great deal of planning and coordination;–it should be clearly noted that the
existing law has entrusted the responsibility for identifying bonded labour systems to
vigilance committees at the district and subdivisional level. The involvement of NGOs and
student volunteers with the task of identifying bonded labour systems should, therefore, be
with the full knowledge and approval of vigilance committees and that of the DM and
SDM which head them respectively;