CASE ANALYSIS

Name of the Case: People's Union For Democratic Rights v Union of India (Asiad Case)

Citation : AIR 1982 SC0 1473

Bench: Bhagwati, P.N.

Facts of the Case:

Petitioner No. 1, is an association framed for the motivation behind securing majority rule rights.
It commissioned three social researchers to investigate and asking into the conditions under
which the laborers occupied with the different Asiad Projects were working. In light of the report
made by these three social researchers after individual investigation and concentrate the 1 st
petitioner tended to a letter to Hon'ble Mr. Equity Bhagwati grumbling of violation of different
work laws by respondents' as well as their operators and looking for obstruction by the Supreme
Court to render social equity by methods for proper directions to the influenced laborers. The
Supreme Court regarded the letter as a writ petition on the legal side and issued notice to the
Union of India, Delhi Organization and the Delhi Development Authority.

The claims in the request were:

(i) The different specialists to whom the execution of the distinctive activities was endowed
locked in contractors for the purpose of doing the development work of the tasks and they were
enrolled as vital employers under area 7 of the Contract Labor (Regulation and Abolition) Act,
1970. These contractors drew in specialists through "Jamadars" who brought them from various
parts of India especially the States of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Orissa and paid to these
Jamadars the lowest pay permitted by law of Rs. 9.25 per day per laborer and not to the laborers
direct. The Jamadars deducted Rupee one every day for each laborer as their commission with
the outcome that there was an infringement of the arrangements of A the Minimum Wages Act;

(ii) The arrangements of Equal Remuneration Act, 1976 were damaged as the ladies specialists
were being paid Rs. 71-every day, the equalization of the measure of the wage was being
misused by the Jamadars:
(iii) There was infringement of Article 24 of the Constitution and of the arrangements of the
Work of Children Acts, 1938 and 1970 in as much as youngsters beneath the age of 14 years
were utilized by the contractors in the construction work of the different tasks,

(iv) There was violation of the arrangements of the Provisional work (Regulations and Abolition)
Act, 1970 which came about in deprivation and abuse of the workers and disavowal of their
ideal to appropriate living condition and restorative and different offices under the Act; and

(v) The arrangements of the Inter-state Migrant Workmen (Guideline of Employment and
Conditions of Administration) Act, 1979, however brought into power as far back as 2 nd October
1980 in the Union. Region of Delhi were not actualized by the Contractors.

Issues Raised:

1. Whether the organization PUDR has locus standi to file this petition or not?
2. Whether the facilities denied to the labourers of Asiad games project is a violation of
their Fundamental Rights?
3. Whether they are entitled to minimum wages or not?
4. Whether there is need for some basic facilities to be provided for their children?

Judgment & Reasoning:

The court decided that in which someone provides labour or provider to another for
remuneration which is less than the minimum wage, the labour or carrier furnished by way of
him actually falls inside the scope and ambit of the phrases 'forced labour' under Article 23. Such
a person might be entitled to return to the court docket for enforcement of his fundamental
proper below Article 23 with the aid of asking the court docket to direct price of the minimal
wage to him so that the labour or provider furnished through him ceases to be 'forced labour' and
the breach of Article 23 is remedied. It is consequently clean that when the petitioners alleged
that minimal wage changed into now not paid to the workmen employed by the contractors, the
complaint become definitely in effect and substance a grievance against violation of the essential
proper of the workmen under Article 23.
Earlier than leaving this difficulty, we may additionally point out with all of the emphasis at our
command that on every occasion any fundamental right, that is enforceable against personal
individuals together with, for example a fundamental right enacted in Article 17 or 23 or 24 is
being violated,it is the constitutional obligation of the country to take the important steps for
the reason of interdicting such violation and ensuring observance of the essential right with the
aid of the personal indivi- dual who is transgressing the equal. Of direction, the man or woman
whose fundamental proper is violated can usually technique the court for the reason of
enforcement of his essential right, but that can not absolve the state from its constitutional
responsibility to peer that there is no violation of thefundamental right of such individual,
especially. When he belongs to the weaker phase humanity and is not able to wage a criminal
struggle against a robust and effective opponent who's exploiting him. The Union of India, the
Delhi management and the Delhi Development Authority ought to therefore be held to be below
an obligation to ensure observance of those numerous labour legal guidelines via the contractors
and if the provisions of any of these labour laws are violated by using the contractors, the
petitioners indicating the reason of the workmen are entitled to implement this responsibility
towards the Union of India, the Delhi administration and the Delhi development Authority by
submitting the existing writ petition. The preliminary objections urged on behalf of the
respondents need to as a result be rejected.

Having disposed of these preliminary objections, we might also turn to don't forget whether there
was any violation of the provisions of the minimum Wages Act 1948, Article 24 of the
constitution, the equal Remuneration Act 1976, the settlement labour (law and Abolition) Act
1970 and the Inter - state Migrant Workmen (law of Employment and situations of provider) Act
1979 via the contractors. The Union of India in its affidavit in reply admitted that there had been
certain violations devoted through the contractors but hastened to feature that for those violations
prosecutions were initiated against the errant contractors and no violation of any of the labour
legal guidelines became allowed to move unpunished. The Union of India additionally conceded
in its affidavit in respond that Re. 1/- in keeping with employee in line with day turned into
deducted by using the jamdars from the salary payable to the workers with the result that the
employees did now not get the minimal wage for their work in line with day, however stated that
lawsuits had been taken for the reason of recovering the amount of the short fall in minimum
wage from the contractors. No particulars were but given of such court cases adopted by means
of the Union of India or the Delhi administration or the Delhi improvement Authority. It became
for this reason that we directed by using our order dated 11th may 1982 that whatever is the
minimal salary at the moment or if the salary payable is higher than such wage, shall be paid by
the contractors to the workmen without delay without the intervention of the jamadars and that
the jamadars shall not be entitled to deduct or recover any quantity from the minimum salary
payable to the workmen as and through manner of commission or in any other case. He would
additionally direct similarly that if the Union of India or the Delhi management or the Delhi
development Authority unearths and for this motive it is able to maintain such inquiry as is
viable inside the circumstances that any of the workmen has now not acquired the minimum
salary payable to him, it shall take the essential legal action against the contracts whether via
manner of prosecution or by manner of healing of the quantity of the brief-fall. we would
additionally advise that hereafter whenever any contracts are ' given by way of the authorities or
every other governmental authority which includes 2 public region organisation, it have to be
ensured by means of introducing a appropriate provision inside the contracts that salary will be
paid through the contractors to the workmen at once with out the intervention of any jamadars or
thekadars and that the contractors shall ensure that no quantity by way of way of commission or
otherwise is deducted or recovered by using the Jamadars from the wage of the workmen. up to
now as observance of the alternative labour legal guidelines by means of the contractors is
concerned, the Union of India, the Delhi management and the Delhi development Authority
disputed the declare of the petitioners that the provisions of these labour laws were no longer
being implemented with the aid of the contractors save in some times where prosecutions had
been released against the contractors. On the grounds that it'd not be possible for this court to
take evidence for the purpose of deciding this real dispute among the parties and we also desired
to make sure that in any occasion the provisions of those diverse laws enacted for the benefit of
the workmen were strictly determined and implemented through the contractors, we via our order
dated eleventh might also 1982 appointed three ombudsmen and requested them to make
periodical inspections of the sites of the construction work for the motive of ascertaining whether
or not the provisions of those labour laws have been being finished and the workers were
receiving the benefits and facilities supplied for them underneath these beneficient statutes or
whether there were any violations of those provisions being committed by the contractors in
order that on the idea of the reviews of the three ombudsmen, this courtroom ought to provide
further path inside the count if observed necessary. We may also add that every time any
construction work is being completed both departmentally or via contractors, the authorities or
any different governmental authority such as a public zone employer that's carrying out such
paintings have to take outstanding care to peer that the provisions of the labour legal guidelines
are being strictly found and that they should not wait for any complaint to be acquired from the
workmen in regard to non observance of the sort of provision before proceeding to do so against
the erring officials or contractor, however they ought to institute an effective device of periodic
inspections coupled with occasional marvel inspections by the higher officials in order to make
sure that there aren't any violations of the provisions of labour legal guidelines and the workmen
are not denied the rights and advantages to which they are entitled below such provisions and if
one of these violations are located, instantaneous movement have to be taken towards defaulting
officers or contractors. This is the least which a government or a governmental authority or a
public quarter employer is expected to do in a social welfare country.