M.C. Mehta v. State of Tamil Nadu
M.C. Mehta v. State of Tamil Nadu
M.C. Mehta v. State of Tamil Nadu
x AIR 1991,Supreme
Court417.
Source:
W r i tP e t n(.C )N o . 4 6 5o f 1 9 8 6D
, t .3 l - 1 0 - 1 9 9 0 .
(Judges
C.J.I.- ChiefJustice
of India,JJ- Justices
of theHigherCourts)
AIR All IndiaReporter,
366
APRIL-SEPT2OO4
minimum wage does not stand in the way of are regularlycoming to the area.He has told us
prescriptionof a higher rate,if theStateis satisfied further that four mobile vans are likely to be
that a higher rate is viable.
provided.The Stateis directedto takeimmediate
stepsto ensureprovision of additionalfacilities
8. It is necessarythat special facilities for on this score.Attention may be given to ensure
providingthe quality of life of childrenshouldbe provisionof abasicdietduringtheworkingperiod
provided. This would require facility for educa- and medicalcare with a view to ensurinssound
tion, scope for recreation as also providing physicalgrowth.
opportunityfor socialisation.Facility for general
educationas alsojob orientededucationshould
11. We are of the opinion that compulsory
be available and the school time should be so insuranceschemeshould be provided for. Both
adjustedthat employment is not affected.
adult and children employeestaking into considerationthe hazardousnature of employment.
9. We are happy to notice that the learned The Stateof Tamil Nadu shall, ensurethat every
counselfor the Stateof Tamil Naduhassuggested employee working in these match factories is
the creation of a Welfare Fund to which the insuredfor a sumof Rs 50,000/-andtheInsurance
registeredmatch factoriescan be askedto con- Corporation, it contacted,should come forward
tribute. Government can decide as to whether with viablegroupinsuranceschemeto
a
coverthe
contribution should be at a fixed rate per factory
employeesin thematchfactoriesof Sivakasiarea.
or made commensurateto the volume of proThe premium for the group insurancepolicy
duction. Learnedcounselfor the Stateof Tamil
shouldbe the liability of the employerto meet as
Nadu has agreedthat the Statewould be ready to
a conditionof service.
contributea matchinggrantto the Fund andeven,
if necessary,
a little more fundscouldbe provided
12. Though we are disposingof this petition
so that facilities for educationand recreationcan
with these directions we are cognisant of the
be provided for the children working in the
position that all the problems relating to
factories.We direct that the Stateof Tamil Nadu
of children are not coveredby the
shall take appropriate steps in the matter of employment
present
We leaveit openeitherto Mr.
directions.
creating the welfare fund and finalising the
other
agencyto move the Court
Mehta
or
some
methodof contributionand collectionthereofso
when
necessary
for further 0rder.
as
and
thatthe welfare fund may be setup by 1stJanuary,
1991.The matchingcontributionby the Statecan
13.We requirethat thereshallbe a committee
be put into the fund by the end of the financial
to
oversee
all our directionsand it shallconsistof
year 1990-91 so that the consolidatedmoney
District
Judgeof the area,the District Magthe
would be available for implementing welfare
Kamaraj
of
district, a public activist
istrate
scheme.
in
the
area,
a representativeof the
operating
local
labour
officer. The Stateof
10.UndertheFactoriesAct, thereis a statutory employeesand
requirementfor providing facilities for recreation Tamil Nadu is directedto depositRs 3,000/- in
and medical attention.The Stateof Tamil Nadu the Registry of this Court within four weeks for
is directedto enforcethesetwo aspectsso that the being given to Mr. Mehta for meeting his
basicrequirementsare attendedto. We have been expenses.
told by learnedcounselfor the Statethat mobile
Order accordingly.
medicalvanshavebeenprovidedby UNICEF and
voL.r6 Nos.2&3
APRIL-SEPT2OO4
voL. r6 Nos.2&3
370
APRIL-SEPT2OO4
Location
(3)
(2)
12,000
15,000
I,00,000
30,000
60,000
Slatepencil
Slate
Diamond-cutting
Agate-cutting
Gem polishing
Mandsaur,Madhya Pradesh
Markapur, Andhra Pradesh
Surat, Gujarat
Cambay, Gujarat
Jaipur, Rajasthan
Power loom
Cotton hosiery
Carpet weaving
Carpet weaving
Carpet weaving
Bhiwandi, Maharashtra
Tiruppur, Tamil Nadu
Mirzapur-B hadohi, Uttar Pradesh
Jammu and Kashmir
Rajasthan
Lock-making
-- do -Pottery
BrassWare
-- do --
Aligarh,
Uttar pradesh
Khurja, Uttar Pradesh
Moradabad,
Uttar Pradesh
Match
Glass
Silk and silk products
Textile
Knives
Sivakasi,Tamil Nadu
Firozabad,Uttar Pradesh
Varanasi,Uttar Pradesh
Varanasi,Uttar Pradesh
Rampur, Uttar Pradesh
Handicrafts
Silk weaving
Brocade and Zai industry
(4)
I,000
app.3,750
15,000
notknown
13,600
Percentageof
Child Workers
to Total
(s)
8.3
25.0
15.0
22.6
15,000
8,000
1,50,000
I,00,000
12,000
75.0
25.0
40.0
80,000
90,000
20,000
l,50,000
7,000
10,000
5,00
40,000
45,000
8.7
ll.l
25.0
25.6
30.6
notknown
2,00,000
I 1,900
3,5r2
notknown
45,000
50,000
4,409
I,108
3,000
90,000
notknown
notknown
26,478
10,000
3,00,000
Brick-kilns
notknown
35,000
Beedi
Circus industry
India
40 major circuses
3,275_,000
3,27_5,00
I, 16,000
28,348
3,00,000
30,000
2,00,000
app.4,00,000
30,000
5.0
11 a
JJ..]
25.0
37.0
1i'
29.42
10.0
12percentof
theentire
labourstrengh
25.0
(Sourcematerialomitted).
v o L .r 6 N o s . 2 & 3
39(0. thatchildrenaregivenopportunitiesand
facilities to developin a healthy mannerand
in conditionsof freedomand dignity, and that
childhood and youth are protected against
exploitation and againstmoral and material
abandonment.
41. Right to work, to educationand to public
in certaincasesassistance
The State shall, within the limits of its economic capacity and development, make
effective provision for securing the right to
work, to educationand to public assistance
in
casesof unemployment,old age,sicknessand
disablement,and in othercasesof undeserved
want.
45. Provisionfor free and compulsoryeducation for children.The Stateshallendeavourto provide,within a
period of ten yearsfrom the commencement
of this Constitution,for free and compulsory
educationfor all children until they complete
the ageof fourteenyears.
47. Duty of the State to raise the level of
nutrition and the standardof living and to
improvepublic healthThe Stateshall regardthe raising of the level
of nutrition and the standardof living of its
peopleand the improvementof public health
asamongits primary dutiesand,in particular,
the Stateshall endeavourto bring about prohibition of the consumption, except for
medicinalpurposes,of intoxicatingdrinks and
of drugswhich are injurious to health.
372
APRIL-SEPT2OO4
v o L .r 6 N o s . 2 & 3
373
2l.The recommendations
of the Commission
cameto be discussedin the LegislativeAssembly
and the Children(Pledgingof Labour) Act, 1933
came to be passed,which may be said to be the
first statutory enactment dealing with child
labour. Many statutescame to be passedthereafter. As on today, the following legislative
enactmentsare in force prohibiting employment
of child labour in differentoccupations:
(i) Section 67 of the Factories Act. 1948:
'Prohibition of employment
of young
children:19. May it be stated that the International
No child who hasnot completedhis fourteenth
Labour Organisation has been playing an
year shall be requiredor allowed to work in
important role in the processof gradual elimiany factory'.
nationof child labourandto protectchildrenfrom
industrialexploitation.It has focussedfive main
(ii) Section24 of the PlantationLabour Act,
is s ues :1951
:
1. Prohibitionof child labour.
'No child who has not
completedhis twelfth
2. Protectingchild labourersat work.
year
shall
required
be
or
allowed to work in
3. Attacking the basiccausesof child labour.
plantation'.
any
4. Helping childrento adoptto future work.
5. Protectingthe children of working parents.
(iii) Section109of theMerchantShippingAct,
1951;
Till now 18 Conventionsand 16 recommendationshavebeenadoptedby the ILO in the
"No personunderfifteen yearsof ageshall be
interestof working children all over the world.
engagedor carried to sea to work in any
capacityin any ship,except20. To continue our narrationof stepstaken
(a) in a school ship, or training ship, in
here,a Royal Commissionon Labour cameto be
accordancewith the prescribedconditions;
establishedin1929to inquireinto variousmatters
or
relatingto labourin this country.The reportcame
(b) in a ship in which all personsemployed
to be finalisedin 1931.It broughtto light many
are membersof one family; or
inequitiesand shockingconditionsunderwhich
(c) in a home-tradeship of less than two
childrenworked.The Commissionhadexamined
hundred
tons gross;or
the conditionsof child labour in different indus(d)
wheresuchpersonis to be employedon
triesandhadfound thatchildrenhadbeenobliged
nominalwagesand will be in the chargeof
to work any numberof hoursper day as required
his fatheror otheradult nearmale relative'.
by their masters.It was alsofound that they were
subjectto corporalpunishment.The Commission
(iv) Section45 of the Mines Act, 1952:had felt great concernat the placing of children
374
APRIL.SEPT2OO4
22.Theaforesaidshowsthatthelegislaturehas
stronglydesiredprohibition of child labour.Act
61 of 1986is,exfacie,a bold step.The provisions
of this Act, otherthan PartIII, came into force at
once and for Part III to come into force, a
notificationby the Central Governmentis visualisedby Section l(3), which notificationcovering all classesof establishments
throughoutthe
territory of India was issuedon May 26, 1993.
voL. 16NOS.2&3
Failure : Causes
376
APRIL.SEPT2OO4
vital questionwhich has remainedalmost unat28. As the aforesaid income could not be
tended.We are,however,of the view that till an enoughto dissuadethe parent/guardianto seek
alternativeincome is assuredto the family, the employmentof the child, the Stateowesa duty to
questionof abolitionof child labourwould really come forward to dischargeits obligation in this
remaina will-o-thewisp.Now, if employmentof regard. After all, the aforementionedconstituchild below that age of 14 is a constitutional tional provision has to be implementedby the
indicationinsofaras work in any factory or mine appropriateGovernment,which expressionhas
or engagementin other hazardouswork, and if it beendefinedin Section2(i) of the Act to mean,
hasto be seenthatall childrenaregiveneducation in relationto establishmentunder the control of
till the age of 14 yearsin view of this being a the Central Governmentor a railway adminisfundamentalright now, and if the wish embodied tration or a major port or a mine or oil field, the
in Article 39(e) that the tenderageof childrenis Central Government,and in all other casesthe
not abusedand citizens are not forced by eco- StateGovernment.
nomic necessityto enter avocationunsuitedto
29. Now, strictlyspeaking,a strongcaseexists
their age, and if children are to be given
invoke
to
the aid of an Article 4l of the Constiopportunitiesandfacilitiesto developin a healthy
regarding
the right to work and to give
tution
mannerand childhoodis to be protectedagainst
what
has
meaning
to
beenprovidedin Article 47
exploitationsas visualisedby Article 39(f, it
raising
relating
to
of
standardof living of the
seemsto us that the leastwe oughtto do is seeto
population,and Articles 39(e) and (f) as to nonthe fulfilment of legislativeintendmentbehind
abuse of tender age of children and giving
enactmentof the Child Labour (Prohibitionand
opportunitiesand facilitiesto them to developin
Regulation) Act, 1986. Taking guidancetherehealthymanner,for askingthe Stateto seethat an
from, we are of the view that the offending
adult member of the family, whose child is in
employermust be askedto pay compensationfor
employmentin a factory or a mine or in other
every child employed in contraventionof the
hazardouswork, gets a job anywhere,in lieu of
provisionsof the Act a sum of Rs 20,0001-;and
the child. This would also see the fulfilment of
theInspector,whoseappointmentis visualisedby
the wish containedin Article 4l afterabouthalf
Section17 to securecompliancewith the provia centuryof its beingin theparamountparchment,
sionsof theAct, shoulddo thisjob. The inspectors like primary education desired
by Article 45,
appointedunder Section 17 would see that for havingbeengiventhe statusof fundamentalright
eachchild employedin violationof theprovisions by the decision in Unni Krishnan,
[993, AIR
of the Act, the concerned employer pays Rs SCW 8631.We are,however,not askingthe State
20,000/-which sum could be depositedin a fund at this stageto ensurealternativeemploymentin
to be known as Child Labour Rehabilitation- every casecoveredby Article 24, as Article 41
cum-WelfareFund.The liability of the employer specksabout right to work 'within the limits of
would not ceaseeven if he would desire to the economiccapacity and developmentof the
disengagethe child presentlyemployed.It would State'.The very large numberof child-labourin
perhapsbe appropriateto havesucha fund district the aforesaidoccupationswould requiregiving of
wise or area wise. The fund so generatedshall jobs to a very large numberof adults,if we were
form corpuswhoseincome shallbe usedonly for to ask the appropriateGovernment to assure
the concernedchild. The quantumcould be the alternativeemployment in every case, which
income earnedon the corpus depositedqua the would strainthe resourcesof the State,in caseit
child. To generategreaterincome, fund can be would not have been aboveto securejob for an
deposited in high yielding scheme of any adult in a privatesectorestablishmentor, for that
nationalisedbank or other public body.
matter,in a public sectororganisation.
We, are
voL. t6 Nos.2&3
378
APRIL.SEPT2OO4
33. The writ petition is disposedof accord(9) We should also like to observethat on the
ingly.
directionsgiven being carried out, penal provisionscontainedin the affronted 1986Act would
34.We part with the fond hopethat the closing
be used where employment of child labour,
years
of the twentieth century would see us
prohibitedby the Act, would be found.
keepingthe promisemadeto our childrenby our
jobs are con- Constitution about half-a-centuryago. Let the
(10) Insofar as the non-hazardous
cerned,the Inspectorshall have to see that the child of twenty-firstcenturyfind himself into that
'heavenof freedom of which our poet laureate
working hoursof the child are not more thanfour
to six hoursa day andit receiveseducationat least RabindranathTagorehasspokenin Gitanjali.
for two hourseachday. It would alsobe seenthat
35.Let acopyof thisjudgmentbesentto Chief
the entire cost of education is borne bv the
Secretariesof all the State Governmentsand
employer.
Union Territories;so also to the Secretary,Min32. The task is big, but not as to prove either istry of Labour, Governmentof India for their
unwieldy or burdensome.The financial implica- informationand doins the needful.
tion would be suchas to prove a damper,because
the money after all would be used to build up a
Order accordingly.
voL.r6 Nos.2&3
The StateGovernments,whereemployment
of child labourin hazardousoccupationshas
beenfound,havealreadyinitiatednecessary
action for the constitution of the Child
Labour Rehabilitation-cum-Welfare
Funds
at the district level in accordancewith the
guidelines circulated by the Ministry of
Labour.While in somedistricts,funds have
alreadybeenconstituted,in othersthe processis underway.
Accordingto informationreceivedsofar, the
amountof compensationreceivedfrom the
offendingemployershas beenas under:
(i) Andhra PradeshRs 40,000
(ii) HaryanaRs 80,000
(iii) KarnatakaRs 60,000
(iv) Madhya PradeshRs 20,000
(v) MaharashtraRs 2,00,000
(vi) OrissaRs 1,00,000
(vii) PunjabRs I,20,000
(viii) West BengalRs 80,000
State Governments and Union Territory
Administrationsof Andhra Pradesh,Chandigarh, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman &
Diu, Goa, Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala,
Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Mizoram,
Orissa, Pondicherry,Punjab, Tamil Nadu,
Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal have
reported that separateLabour Cells have
been constitutedin the State Governments
for ensuring enforcement of the various
provisionsof the Act and/ormonitoring the
activitiestaken up in compliancewith the
directionsof the Hon'ble Court.
Most of the StateGovernmentsand Union
Territorieswhich have replied to the questionnaireandwhereemploymentof children
in hazardousoccupationshas been found,
have reportedthat besidestaking action for
collectionof compensation@ Rs 20,000per
$ Extracts from the Affidavit of the Secretaryto the Ministry of Labour, Government of India in the SupremeCourt of
India on December4, 1997 on the action taken by the Governmentto implement the directionsgiven by the SupremeCourt
o n D e c e m b e r1 0 , 1 9 9 6 .
APRIL-SEPT
2OO1