The National Human Rights Commission informed the Supreme Court on Friday that it will hold discussions with stakeholders and develop a “concrete proposal” to address the issue of providing immediate financial assistance to rescued bonded laborers.
A bench of Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan heard the petition, which seeks to enforce the fundamental rights of trafficked individuals forced into bonded labor. During the hearing, the issue of financial aid for these workers was raised.
Senior advocate HS Phoolka, representing one of the petitioners, highlighted that less than 10% of rescued laborers received financial assistance or compensation. He noted that while the petitioner organization rescued around 11,000 children, only 719 received financial aid.
The NHRC counsel agreed to discuss the matter with stakeholders to finalize the details. The bench directed the NHRC to work with the petitioners and stakeholders to develop a solution.
“The counsel for NHRC states that she will have discussions with all stakeholders and come out with a concrete proposal to resolve the issue of immediate financial assistance to rescued bonded laborers,” the bench stated, scheduling the next hearing for four weeks later.
This matter dates back to July 2022, when the Supreme Court agreed to hear the petition and sought responses from the Centre, NHRC, and several states and union territories.
One petitioner, who was rescued along with other bonded workers from a brick kiln in Uttar Pradesh’s Shahjahanpur district in 2019, described being trafficked by an unregistered contractor from Bihar’s Gaya district. They were forced to work without receiving the minimum statutory wages, severely restricting their rights to movement and employment.
