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Home / Specials / Insight / When liberty becomes a casualty
Liberty: The casualty of fewer bails

In 2014, the SC directed that for offences punishable up to seven years, bail should be the norm. Yet, jails in India remain
overcrowded
Sidharth Luthra, AUG 27 2022, 21:44 IST | UPDATED: AUG 28 2022, 02:48 IST
Representative image. Credit: iStock Photo

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the 1980s, petitions to the Supreme Court (SC) by undertrials seeking bail were rare. Today, the
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daily cause list of any Supreme Court bench, dealing with criminal matters, has a large number of
bail petitions by undertrials.
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In Hussain vs Union, the SC gave directions to expedite hearings in granting bails. In an earlier case
in 2014, the court directed that for offences punishable up to seven years, bail should be the norm.
Yet, jails in India remain overcrowded. The SC has emphasised this in Satender Kumar Antil vs CBI,
noting that, “two-thirds of the inmates of the prisons constitute undertrial prisoners.” It added that
the principle of bail being the rule and jail, the exception was being diluted.
Also Read | Cuffed before guilty: The ordeal of undertrials
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30 सेकं ड में जानिए अपना भविष्य
Presumption of innocence is part of our constitutional right as enshrined in Article 21 of the
Constitution of India, Article 14(2) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and
Article 11 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
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Even though the SC has directed courts and authorities repeatedly, arrests are arbitrary and
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remand is often granted mechanically.
While legislation specifically meant to grant bail, like the Bail Act, may someday be a reality, there
is an urgent need for reform in the power to arrest. While the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC)
was amended to introduce Section 41A that mandates cops to serve pre-arrest notice, police end
up invoking other offences with higher punishments to circumvent this mandate.
The CrPC awards vast discretion to police officers to arrest and to courts to grant bail. This
discretion is often exercised ad hoc, owing to external considerations such as media glare and
populism. It is high time for legislative reform.
The Bail Act may take time but till then it is open for the Supreme Court to issue specific guidelines
for police remand, judicial custody remand and structured guidelines for granting bail.
While it is essential to have reform and guided discretion in the matter of arrest and bail, it is also
time for constitutional courts to deal with procedural violations with the utmost sensitivity and not
allow investigating agencies to escape blatant violations. Liberty is to be protected by conformity
through a procedure established by law. If we continue to turn a blind eye to procedural infractions
and dilute safeguards, the criminal justice system will continue to do a great disservice to the right
of liberty.
Similarly, it is time to have delegated legislations, whether standing orders, regulations or rules, to
restrict and regulate arrests by police and investigating agencies across the board. Consequential
amendments to police rules, the Enforcement Directorate manual and the CBI manual are
essential. Else, liberty will be the casualty and Article 21 will become a dead letter.
(The author is a senior lawyer practising at Supreme Court)
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Home / Specials / Gandhigiri: Party still in a stranglehold
Gandhigiri: Party still in a stranglehold

Rahul might have relinquished the party presidency in 2019, but he still has the last word in the Congress
Archis Mohan, Shemin Joy, DHNS, Bengaluru/New Delhi,

AUG 27 2022, 23:44 IST | UPDATED: AUG 28 2022, 08:29 IST
While few of his forebears received the scorn Rahul Gandhi has endured, particularly from within
the Congress party, the old guard's condescension towards him fits a pattern. It is a symptom of
ailments plaguing the Congress, which Ghulam Nabi Azad and other seniors have
flagged. However, it predates their advent in the party and is linked to its ideological confusion and
eroding organisational strength.
That 73-year-old Azad has sought to bolster the perception that 52-year-old Rahul is an immature,
childish and non-serious politician is not a surprise, judging by the treatment that Indira Gandhi,
Rajiv Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi received from the party's old guard when they took up the reins in
1967, 1985 and 1998, respectively. They all negotiated it in their own ways. Indira successfully
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robbed Rajiv
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of a second chance.
Rahul's approach of hitting the streets while a non-Gandhi Congress president dismantles the
existing entrenched structures in the party is evident from something he shared with close
advisers weeks after the Congress' 2019 Lok Sabha loss. Rahul believes leaders, such as Azad and
others, have contributed to the Congress' current predicament by putting their interests ahead of
those of the party. "Rahul said the Congress must first burn down to rise from the ashes.
Essentially, 'rootless wonders', like Azad, were welcome to quit the party before it is rebuilt," said a
Congress party functionary.
Also Read | Ahead of CWC meet, Congress leaders reject Ghulam Nabi Azad's criticism of Rahul
The Bharat Jodo Yatra, from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, is Rahul's attempt to connect the party with
people, their issues, and with youth who might want to join the party.
A member of Parliament for 18 years, Rahul has often lamented that the causes he took up during
his presidency did not find support from fellow leaders, and it was 'ekla chalo re' for him. He felt
isolated as senior leaders sought to put practical politics at the forefront. The larger questions of
democracy, connecting with the masses and revitalising the party did not resonate with the battle-
hardened old guard, he felt.
The change in Congress has been apparent in the past few months, with Rahul, and also Priyanka
Gandhi Vadra, leading protests and demonstrations. For the Yatra, the Congress' outreach to civil
society is its bid to expand its catchment area.
It knows that civil society, through the National Advisory Council (NAC), helped the party retain
power in 2009. The same civil society, if not all the constituents, comprised the India Against
Corruption movement, which contributed to dislodging Congress from power. The Congress says it
is not outsourcing political activity to civil society outfits, but is using all resources at its command
to restrict the growth of the BJP and RSS.
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Jawaharlal Nehru was a colossus of Indian politics during his prime ministerial years. Political
rivals and the media treated ‘Panditji’ with deference, even after the ignominy of the Sino-Indian
war of 1962. But it has been par for his successors to be humiliated. When Indira Gandhi asserted
herself in 1967, several of her late father’s colleagues opposed her, leading to a split in the party.
At various times, leaders such as Morarji Desai, K Brahmananda Reddy, YB Chavan, Devaraj Urs and
Jagjivan Ram opposed her or parted ways when the party was at its weakest, but rejoined when it
regained power. Indira cut regional satraps down to size, and centralised decision making in the
process, weakening the party’s organisation.
Hers was also the last comprehensive attempt to reinvigorate the party’s mass mobilisation after
1947. In 1971, trying to piece together the party after the split and reverses in the 1967 Lok Sabha
and assembly polls, Indira led the Congress to a famous win on the back of her ‘Garibi
Hatao’ slogan, abolition of privy purses and bank nationalisation. It firmly moored the party to the
left-of-centre ideology and triggered the largest induction of youth in to the party in the post-
independence era.
However, the Congress has not had rigorous organisational elections or mass mobilisation
programmes since. By the mid-1970s, the Jayaprakash Narayan-led anti-Emergency movement
helped opposition parties, particularly the Socialists and the Jan Sangh, draw youth.
Also Read | Congress a sinking ship, Azad raised valid issues during exit: Devendra Fadnavis
When he took over in 1984-85, Rajiv Gandhi understood the crisis facing the Congress. At the
Congress centenary session in 1985, Rajiv Gandhi, in his youthful enthusiasm, took on the party’s
old guard, describing them as “brokers of power and influence”. They turned against him. A series
of missteps followed, including Rajiv’s injudicious attempts to appease Muslims with the Shah
Bano case and Hindus with the Ram Mandir.
It was as if, says a veteran Congress observer, the old guard wanted to see him fail. As the Congress
went into the 1989 Lok Sabha polls, there were few in the party defending Rajiv’s governance
record — computerisation, voting rights to 18-year-olds, panchayati raj and internal security
successes.
The Congress managed to form the government in 1991, but the Sangh Parivar, through its Ram
Janmabhoomi agitation and the Socialists, through Mandal, were busy in mass mobilisation. The
Congress lost Uttar Pradesh and Bihar in those years and is yet to recover. In the aftermath of the
Babri Masjid demolition, according to the K Karunakaran committee report, several district units of
the UP Congress changed their signboards to join the BJP overnight.
Back to poverty alleviation

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Until her sacrifice in rejecting the prime ministerial chair in 2004, Sonia was the subject of much
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mirth, notably in 1999, when she proclaimed, “We have 272”, but failed to form the government.
Leaders such as Sharad Pawar, who felt she did not allow him to be the PM in 1991, supporting PV
Narasimha Rao instead, opposed her and exited the party.
Unlike Rajiv, who could not get another chance to redeem himself, Sonia did, in 2004.
She accommodated the old guard and veered the party further towards its left-of-centre moorings
and commitment to the poor with a rural employment guarantee scheme and farm loan waiver.
“While the party organisation had weakened by then, people recognised the good work, and voted
for the Congress, getting it 206 seats, its highest since 1991,” says a Congress leader.
Subsequently, the Congress lost the gains of 2009 in a perfect storm that hit the UPA government
with allegations of corruption as well as the India Against Corruption campaign and Narendra Modi
as the ‘Hindu Hridaya Samrat’ leading the BJP. The party organisation was too weak to withstand
the all-round attack, including subversion from within.
Also Read | Wrong to blame individuals for electoral loss, targeted vilification of Rahul in
Azad's letter: Pilot
According to party leaders, Rahul’s ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ is an effort to to repair the damage that first
began in the Indira years by reconnecting with people across the country. For 150 days from
September 7, Congress workers will be on a ‘padayatra’ from the south to the north. It initially
wanted to start the 3,570-km yatra, covering 12 states and two union territories, on Mahatma
Gandhi’s birth anniversary. But it brought the schedule forward as it wanted to capitalise on the
momentum following a string of protests on price rise and misuse of central agencies with the
tricolour dominating the yatra.
But the new non-Gandhi Congress president, even though a veteran like Ashok Gehlot, could end
up in the shadows if Rahul and his close aides continue to hold sway in the party’s running. He
might have relinquished the party presidency in 2019, but Rahul still has the last word in the
Congress.

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Home / Specials / Insight / Cuffed before guilty: The ordeal of undertrials
Cuffed before guilty: The ordeal of undertrials

Lakhs await trial in India's prisons, as arbitrary arrests, judicial delays and lack of rehabilitative measures serve them a
lifetime of punishment
Shree D N, DHNS, Bengaluru, AUG 27 2022, 23:31 IST | UPDATED: AUG 28 2022, 08:27 IST
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“I had a lot of friends earlier. Now, nobody cares, and nobody calls. I have no social life. Those who
watch me from afar doubt me and say that I might have really committed some crime.
Otherwise, why would cops arrest me?” says Qasim*, a resident of Bengaluru, as he recalls his
ordeal as an undertrial with a rueful laugh.
Arrested by police in Bengaluru in 2008, he was taken to Hubballi on the fourth day of his
detainment to identify people allegedly involved in a few blast cases.
He was charged with many sections including waging war against the State and imprisoned in
Hindalga jail in Belagavi, awaiting trial. His two-year-old child and pregnant wife, miles away in
Bengaluru, suffered the consequences.
He was granted bail after three years in 2011. “My business that was going well took a big hit. I had
to shift to a smaller house as I was unable to afford rent. Life became very difficult, though I had no
connection to the case,” he says.
Also Read | CJI U U Lalit intends to focus on three areas, including listing of cases in Supreme
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Getting an acquittal from a sessions court in 2015 changed nothing for the better. “My face was
plastered all over media. Everyone recognised me. No one was willing to give me business for a
long time,” he adds.
Praveen* (44), once a journalist, agrees with Qasim. Arrested in 2008 and released on bail in 2009,
he lost his job soon after his arrest on charges of collaborating with criminals. He was granted bail
in 15 days, but could not be released until the chargesheet was filed.
By the time the chargesheet could be filed, the case went to the Supreme Court (SC) due to an
appeal. Praveen had to spend a year in prison despite getting bail. When he was finally released, he
could not go back to the profession he loved. The emotional toll the ordeal had on him weighed
heavy. “It was very difficult for me to come out of it. Even now it is very difficult,” he says. The trial
is still underway.
The law says one is “innocent until proven guilty” and “bail is the norm, jail is an exception”.
However, the ground reality is different. Praveen says, in practice, it is “guilty until proven
innocent.”
“It drains us emotionally. Nobody believes us. It is very difficult to face society even after getting
out of jail,” he adds.
About 76% of Indian prisoners are undertrials. While nearly 18 lakh undertrials enter prisons every
year in India, close to 30% of them spend more than a year in jail. Such jail terms affect their lives
severely.
Long delays in pre-trial detention disproportionately affect the poor and illiterate. The now-retired
Chief Justice of India N V Ramana spoke about the need to assist undertrial prisoners. This also
resonated in the prime minister's speeches.
Data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) in 2020 shows that a whopping 67% of
undertrials have not passed Class 10.
People with money and influence who can afford top-class lawyers do not go to trial at all. Their
cases get quashed quickly on technical grounds, says Praveen. “Justice is not free, it comes with a
heavy cost,” he says.
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main reason for undertrial prisoners being detained for such unreasonable amounts of time is
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their economic condition, says Basawa Prasad Kunale, a lawyer based in Bengaluru.
“A large number of people who come in conflict with the law belong to the poorest, the most
marginalised and the most vulnerable communities. They are completely ignorant of how the
criminal justice system works,” says Cecilia Davies, executive director of the Bengaluru-based
Justice Initiative Foundation.
Gathering enough money to afford bail is difficult. “Most of them cannot afford bail amounts as
little as Rs 5,000-10,000,” adds Cecilia.
Even meeting the bail requirement of getting personal sureties from government employees or
people who own property becomes a problem, Kunale adds.
Delay in bail hearings compounds the problem. Sometimes, multiple false charges are added on

once a person is arrested. When the trial of one case ends, another starts, prolonging pre-trial
detention in prison.
Robin Christopher, a lawyer from Bengaluru, says that trials can be delayed for other reasons as
well. Cops may not be able to complete the investigation in time due to administrative or
investigative challenges.
The compounding of these factors leads to prisons being crowded with undertrials. “The problem
with delays is that the number of days the accused has lost is so high that it is almost like he has
served his sentence,” he adds.
Justice denied
“It does not matter how many days one spends inside the jail, the moment they step inside they
are presumed guilty. It is mentally very taxing. It’s a vicious cycle. It is about changing the course of
a whole family,” says Madhurima Dhanuka, Prison Reforms Programme, Commonwealth Human
Rights Initiative.
While bail can be granted at the police station, in many cases, it is denied. “Our system lacks
safeguards related to pre-trial detention. There is no timeline for bail hearings, investigations and
trials. Such delays are a problem even for victims who are awaiting closure,” she adds.
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Yellappa G, who came out of prison in 2018 after serving a sentence of 14 years, says that
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overcrowding is a huge problem that impacts the quality of life for all prisoners. “This
(overcrowding) leads to the usage of common toilets by everyone, lack of hygiene and health risks.
There are cases of many undertrials who die by suicide,” he says.
Close to 7% of deaths in jails occur due to contagious diseases such as human immunodeficiency
virus (HIV) and tuberculosis. Issues like sexual assault and violence also plague the most
vulnerable communities in prison.
NCRB data show that one in every five undertrials is a Muslim. Almost three in every four
undertrials are Dalits, scheduled tribes or OBCs.
“They face discrimination on religious grounds even inside prisons,” says Abdul Wahid Sheikh, the
author of Begunah Qaidi (Innocent Prisoner), talking about Muslim undertrials. He was accused in
the 2006 Mumbai train bombings and was acquitted of all charges in 2015, after spending nine
years in prison. He now runs The Innocent Network, which provides pro bono legal services to
undertrials.
Plea bargaining has been often touted as a solution by the government. Introduced in 2006 in
India, it refers to pre-trial negotiations with the prosecution for a lesser punishment than what is
provided in law by pleading guilty to a less serious offence.
An acquitted undertrial explained to DH how this option is misused. "The cops asked me to turn
approver and testify to something that I was not a witness to so that I can get out of jail sooner," he
said. When inmates do not agree to such offers, they are put behind bars for unreasonable terms.
Stigma, lack of rehabilitation
Even after bail, it becomes very challenging for the accused to go back to the same place, even
when the crime is not yet proven. Looming animosity and suspicion prevent them from living
normal lives.
Cecilia explains the stigma. “As a society, we do not yet have the culture and the mindset to
understand that they are still just suspects, accused, and not convicted.” This issue is complex, yet
society looks at it in black and white, with no shades of grey.
For women undertrials, this vulnerability becomes even more intense, with a higher degree of
shame and dishonour. “For a man, the justification is that he lost his temper. But for women, it is
always, ‘Oh my goodness, how could she do that?’” says Cecilia, who has been working to
rehabilitate released and acquitted women prisoners.
There is also no system to enable a smooth transition from life in prison to outside. Undertrials
have no opportunity to work or earn while in jail. There is no compensation once they are released,
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which is an essential right in many other countries. Close to 50% of undertrials are young, in the
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formative ages of 18 to 30.
“One day you are inside and the next day you are out, and on your own. You have probably lost
your job. You have a case against you which makes it more difficult to get back to normal,” says
Madhurima.
There are few organisations working on prison-related issues, including undertrials, in India.
Arbitrary arrests
“When there is political, public or media pressure, police tend to play safe by resorting to arrests.
Lack of professionalism and intention to overcome allegations of partisanship are other reasons
for needless arrests,” says S T Ramesh, former Director General of Police, Karnataka.
“The investigation of cases under social legislation like the Dowry Prohibition Act and SC/ST
atrocities act are high-pressure situations for cops. They tend to make arrests in such situations to
ward off allegations,” he adds.
“Police should be more professional. They should be sensitised on attitudinal change,” says
Ramesh.
Putting in place pre-arrest safeguards to check arbitrary arrests and ensuring strict judicial scrutiny
is important, says Madhurima.
When legal aid is not free
There are legal services authority (LSA) cells at the national, state and district levels, to provide free
legal help for the needy facing trials. But sometimes, some lawyers end up demanding money, say
sources.
“People become pro bono lawyers out of their own goodwill. Increasing the compensation,
helping lawyers with resources like libraries and infrastructure, giving them recognition and
reviewing their performance will motivate more lawyers to offer free services to undertrials,” says
Christopher.
“It’s true, I should confess to it,” says Shashidhar Shetty, member secretary of the Karnataka State
Legal Services Authority (KSLSA), acknowledging existing problems. He adds that the KSLSA is
working on sensitising advocates and law students on pro bono service and ethics. The authority is
also planning to establish Legal Aid Defence Counsel Systems in 17 districts of Karnataka, with
corporate-style offices and lawyers on its payroll.
The proportion of unsentenced detainees in the overall prison population is one of the indicators
of equality in justice in the globally-agreed Sustainable Development Goals. At 76%, India has had
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sixth highest percentage of undertrials in the world. Pre-arrest checks and rehabilitation
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programmes are essential to tackle this violation of rights and make justice a reality for all,
including people awaiting trial.
Undertrial review committees
The problem of overcrowding in prisons is not new. Supreme Court recognised the problem when
it heard a 2013 PIL on inhuman conditions in prisons. In 2015, it directed National Legal Services
Authority (NALSA), Ministry of Home Affairs and State Legal Services Authorities (SLSAs) to form
Undertrial Review Committees (UTRC) in all districts.
The committee consists of judges, police and legal service authority members. It is mandated to
conduct periodic meetings and review the undertrials accused of 14 types of minor offences. Sick,
old or women undertrials are also considered for release under this.
After the recent Supreme Court intervention and the prime minister’s call to release more
undertrials, there has been some movement on the ground. “We have launched a UTRC campaign
recently and have released more than 300 UTPs,” said Shashidhar Shetty.
A total of 2296 undertrial prisoners have been released in Karnataka since January 2021, as per
UTRCs’ recommendations.
(*Some names have been changed to preserve privacy)

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Home / Specials / Insight / The dream of ‘machine holes’ and robot cleaners
The dream of ‘machine holes’ and robot cleaners
Arjun Raghunath, ETB Sivapriyan, Shree D N, DHNS, AUG 13 2022, 21:01 IST | UPDATED: AUG 13 2022, 22:38 IST
In 2020, when the Central government announced that the term ‘manhole’ in the Prohibition of
Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act will be replaced with ‘machine
hole’, the objective was to push for mechanisation. In fact, many machines have been developed
and deployed, making the task of clearing blockages in sewers easier, especially in cities. Thereby
reducing the chances of death during hazardous cleaning.
HomoSEP, a robot solution developed by the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, was touted to
be a good solution to end manual scavenging. Divanshu Kumar, Chief Executive Officer of the
company that developed HomoSEP, told DH that the robot was designed keeping in mind the
Indian sewer system and was modified based on the feedback of safai karmacharis.
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Technological intervention with adequate training to operate the robots is the only solution
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the practice of manual scavenging according to Samuel Velankanni, Convenor, Safai Karamchari
Andolan, Tamil Nadu.
Also Read | Shackles of manual scavenging still weigh heavy in free India
“Since people want the sludge to be cleared and want to see the bottom of the tank clean, the
workers are forced to enter the septic tanks. Some die while being exposed to poisonous gases,”
Velankanni said, adding that robots that can go deep and clear sludge are the need of the hour.
Two HomoSEP robots have been provided to Nagammal and Ruth Mary – both of them lost their
husbands to manual scavenging. The machines are yet to be used as approval from the Greater
Chennai Corporation is still pending.
“I have a robot and two people have been trained to handle it. We hope to use them soon. If such a
technology was available in 2007, my husband might have been alive today,” Nagammal said.
One more such solution, Bandicoot, launched in 2018 by the Kerala-based firm Genrobotics, is
designed to mimic human movements with the help of AI, sensors and cameras. It can enter
manholes, move around and gain stability in different terrains, open the cover of drains, remove
solid waste and inspect the sewerage systems. About 250 Bandicoots have been developed and
deployed across 17 states.
The robot was piloted in Thiruvananthapuram in 2018 by deploying one unit for Kerala Water
Authority's (KWA) sewerage division. Now three such units are functional. The company is now
working on more features.
However, having operated Bandicoot on a trial basis, Suresh B, engineer-in-chief, Bangalore Water
Service and Sewerage Board (BWSSB), feels that BWSSB’s desilting machines are more powerful
than Bandicoots.
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Bengaluru is yet to try robots seriously, but Suresh lists jetting-cum-suction machines,Subscribe
sucker and
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super sucker machines among those that have helped the city.
He is all-praise for the Delhi model of sewerage clearance, which has machines that can go into
narrow lanes, which, he says, is exactly what Bengaluru needs. While underground drainage
coverage has been developed in the old Bengaluru area, the 110 villages added in 2010 will get
complete coverage soon. There will be no more septic tanks even in these areas, he says. However,
with Bengaluru growing beyond the BBMP limits, if the city will truly be free of ‘man holes’,
remains to be seen.

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Home / Specials / Insight / Shackles of manual scavenging weigh heavy in India
Shackles of manual scavenging still weigh heavy in free

India
75 years after independence, poverty, caste inequalities and government neglect are still leaving manual scavengers
stranded on their road to freedom
Varsha Gowda, Shree D N, DHNS, Bengaluru, AUG 13 2022, 20:59 IST | UPDATED: AUG 14 2022, 08:50 IST
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In the week leading up to the 75th anniversary of Indian independence, Kyatappa spent a day in a
septic tank in Madhugiri, Tumakuru district, cleaning human excreta. The celebrations mean
nothing to him, “freedom is for educated people, not for people like me,” he says. His realities are
still rooted in caste discrimination and economic impoverishment.
Over seven decades after the birth of India, the country remains shackled to manual scavenging,
conferring indignity on those who have no choice but to carry on the inhuman practice.
For more than 30 years, Kyatappa (60) has cleaned sewer pits for a living but has not been able to
bring himself to tell his two children what he does to put food on the table and send them to
college. “I am afraid that they will look at me differently,” he says.
The sights and smells of his work compelled him to consume copious amounts of alcohol. Once he
comes home, he can barely touch food. There are days he has survived on just tea.
India has passed legislation, carried out surveys and put in place rehabilitation processes to end
manual scavenging. Two laws, the Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry
Latrines (Prohibition) Act, 1993 and the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and
their Rehabilitation Act, 2013 (PEMSRA), not only outlaw the practice but also penalise those who
employ people to clean human excrement.

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Also Read | The dream of ‘machine holes’ and robot cleaners
Despite these measures, the country has been unable to accurately determine the number of
people who work in clearing human faeces, let alone rehabilitate them and put the practice in the
past. Layers of discrimination — from society, bureaucracy and politicians — towards deprived
castes have compounded the issue. A majority of manual scavengers, about 97%, belong to
Scheduled Castes.
The crisis of identity
If there is alternative employment that is consistent, Kyatappa says he would change his
occupation in a heartbeat. But government rehabilitation programmes require that he is identified
as a manual scavenger first. That in itself is a tall task because officials have failed to verify his
work. “I have travelled to the district headquarters four times but I have still not received an ID
card,” he says. Rehabilitation still remains a distant dream.
Like Kyatappa, many manual scavengers struggle to be identified officially.
Hurdles in survey and verification procedures and bureaucratic non-compliance have made it next
to impossible for them to be recognised.
According to government data, there are about 58,098 manual scavengers across India. But
activists and experts say this number is a gross underestimation.
The government has carried out about seven national surveys but data differs widely, making it
difficult to form a clear picture of the number in the country.
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latest survey on manual scavengers in 2018. The survey, conducted in 14 states, found 87,913
people engaged in clearing human faecal matter in India. The Ministry of Social Justice and
Empowerment, which commissioned the NSKFDC survey, recognised only 48% of those identified.
Even though PEMSRA mandates that surveys be conducted by the local administration, their
lackadaisical attitudes mean that a grassroots account is not reliably maintained.
K B Obalesh, Karnataka convenor of the Safai Karmacharis Kaval Samiti, says, “The standard
operating procedure in these surveys mentions that the last place the manual scavenger cleaned
must be inspected. Officials also converse with the owners of households, often in a threatening
manner, and ask if the scavenger had been employed,” he says.
Since employing someone as a manual scavenger is a legally punishable offence, many deny that
they had ever employed someone to clean their sewer pits. “The application then gets denied,” he
says.
Also Read | 330 died ‘cleaning’ sewers, septic tanks between 2017-21: Govt in LS
An official in the Department of Rural Development confirmed that survey officials often have to
engage with homeowners as they are required to take photographs of the pits. “If the Centre
changes its guidelines, we will follow,” the official says.
This unwillingness to undertake a comprehensive survey, which is central to rehabilitation efforts,

betrays the government’s intentions, according to Pragya Akhilesh, director of the World
Sanitation Workers Alliance. There is a reluctance to identify manual scavengers as it would
increase the State’s responsibility to rehabilitate people and also accurately log death tolls due to
sewage cleaning. “They will have to accept that sewer deaths are murders by the State due to their
own negligence and lack of intention,” she explains.
In addition, ambiguous definitions have created confusion on the ground about who qualifies to
be a manual scavenger – do workers who clear manholes and blocked sewerage networks count?
Recently, the Minister of State of Social Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale said in the
Lok Sabha that there was no report of anyone engaged in manual scavenging as per the 2013 Act.
“However, 330 persons have died due to accidents while undertaking hazardous cleaning of sewer
and septic tanks during the last five years,” he said.
According to the 2013 Act, a manual scavenger is anyone who manually cleans, carries, or disposes
of human excreta from an insanitary latrine, open drain, pit or railway track before the excreta fully
decomposes. While the 2013 Act expanded the definition of manual scavengers to include those
who clean railway tracks, it still leaves out several workers who clean sewerage lines or manholes.
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clearing of manholes and sewage lines. This is where most people die,” says Siddharth Joshi, a
Bengaluru district committee member of the Safai Karmachari Kavalu Samiti.
Problem with drainage system
A failure to modernise sewage, drainage and toilet systems to eliminate manual scavenging has
contributed to the problem.
In the villages surrounding Tumakuru town, toilets are in abundance, a sign of the success of the
Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM). For Selvaraj*, a 30-year-old manual scavenger, this has meant more
work.
In rural homes, close to 72% of toilets need manual intervention, according to DH’s analysis of data
from the National Annual Rural Sanitation Survey 2019-20.
Also Read | No person currently engaged in manual scavenging: GoI
“SBM only focuses on building ‘infrastructure’ and not on the conditions and rights of the
sanitation workers, who are working endlessly to maintain them,” says Pragya.
Only 26% of homes had twin-leach pits, a facility that manages faecal waste on site. Other toilets,
with open drains, septic tanks, single-leach pits and closed pits, all require manual cleaning.
In urban India, about 44% of all homes are not connected to piped sewer networks, according to a
2017 survey. “The unwillingness to modernise sewage drains, many of which cannot handle
robotic intervention, is another way in which administrative bodies make manual scavenging seem
inevitable,” says Obalesh.
Sources in the Urban Housing and Development Ministry say that the government plans to
purchase machines, that cost Rs 1.25 lakh each, for 500 cities and gram panchayats. This would
eliminate the need to physically enter sewers and septic tanks.
But the technology needs to be properly utilised. “Municipalities and gram panchayats must
allocate funds to ensure that people who operate the equipment get paid. If the machine breaks
down, is there money set aside for repair?” asks Y J Rajendra, president of the People’s Union for
Civil Liberties, Karnataka. Without such provisions, the machines will soon fall into disuse, he
explains.
Health and rehabilitation
The physical toll that the job takes is high. Dr Asha Benakappa, a physician, says, “Becoming a
manual scavenger means getting married to diseases. Workers are prone to water-borne diseases
like typhoid, hepatitis A and B, cholera, dengue and malaria,” she says.
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cells die.
Coming in contact with toxic gases like ammonia, carbon monoxide and sulphur dioxide is
inevitable. The most common hazard is asphyxiation due to noxious gases. On average, three
sanitation workers die every five days because of manual scavenging, according to a study by
WaterAid.
Not just physical impact, the indignity of work weighs heavy on the psyche and spirit of people
who engage in manual scavenging. “People do not consider you human, they always look at you
like you are dirty. It is a stink that never washes off,” says Selvaraj.
The denigrating nature of work and its health risks only emphasise the pressing need for
rehabilitation. Identified manual scavengers are supposed to receive one-time cash assistance
(OTCA) of Rs 40,000, skill development training for two years with a monthly stipend of Rs 3,000
and a capital subsidy loan of Rs 5 lakh.
Only 31% of identified workers, that is 27,268 of them, received some form of benefit from
government schemes and only 2% participated in the trainings.
In case of death due to sanitation work or manual scavenging, the family of the deceased is
entitled to Rs 10 lakh, a permanent job and other benefits. In 24% of recorded sewer deaths,
compensation is yet to be processed. Families that did receive compensation were seldom offered
permanent jobs.
Anjamma (25), for instance, only received contractual employment as a sweeper after the death of
her husband Narasimhamurthy. He had been sent to clean a septic tank along with his friend
Chikkanna in 2015 in Tumakuru.
“I have to support three children but I do not have the confidence because my job is not secure,”
says Anjamma.
The demand for steady jobs and upskilling resounds across families engaged in manual
scavenging. “The OTCA is peanuts. Provide a five lakh package to scavenger families. Provide them
with permanent employment as per Supreme Court’s 2014 judgment,” says Bezwada Wilson,
Magsaysay awardee and national convener of the Safai Karmachari Andolan.
Government intervention like rehabilitation and legal prosecution of those who employ people to
clear faeces is key. Those who violate the PEMSRA can receive a two-year sentence of
imprisonment or a fine of Rs 1 lakh, or both. The law has become a paper tiger as not a single
person has been convicted in the nine years since its enactment.
The way forward

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Systematic identification of insanitary latrines and surveys are central to the implementation
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rehabilitation schemes. Without a “modern, mechanising sewerage cleaning system and an up-to-
date drainage system and a robust penalising system, the oppression and murder of lower castes
under the manual scavenging practice will continue,” says Obalesh.
*Some names have been changed to protect privacy
(With inputs from Ajith Athrady in New Delhi)

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Gandhigiri - Party Still in A Stranglehold - Deccan Herald

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Home / Specials / Insight / When liberty becomes a casualty

Liberty: The casualty of fewer bails

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