The Delhi High Court on Friday asked the Delhi government to file an affidavit on payment of compensation to the family of two people who died inside a sewer this year and said it will take the matter to its logical conclusion. A bench headed by Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma asked the government to clarify if the amount of Rs 10 lakh paid to the families of deceased was pursuant to the Supreme Court’s judgement on payment of compensation to victims of manual scavenging or under a separate scheme. On October 6, the court had directed the DDA, under whose jurisdiction the incident took place, to pay Rs 10 lakh each as compensation to the families of the deceased in line with the top court’s decision and consider granting compassionate appointment.
But the DDA claimed it is not responsible for such payment and that it is the duty of the city government. The DDA counsel said on Friday Rs 10 lakh compensation has now been paid by the Delhi government to the families of the victims. Delhi government counsel Santosh Kumar Tripathi said there should be ”no confusion” on account of the compensation paid by the state government. He said there cannot be any question of “duality” of payment as the amount released by the government was in under a separate 2020 scheme. “GNCTD prays for time to file an affidavit in order to clarify whether the ex-gratia payment of Rs 10 lakh is on account of the judgement by Supreme Court or not. He shall also clarify if the amount is paid to each and every employee on account of accidental death or only to scavengers in light of the Supreme Court judgment. You file within one week,” said the bench, also comprising Justice Subramonium Prasad. “We will bring the case to a logical conclusion. We are not that helpless,” added the bench which was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) initiated by the court on its own based on a news report of the incident. A sweeper and a security guard had died on September 9 in Outer Delhi’s Mundka area after they inhaled toxic gases inside a sewer.
The incident occurred when a sweeper had gone down to clean the sewer and fainted. A security guard who rushed to his rescue also fell unconscious, and both died.
Last month, Chief Justice Sharma had said his “head hangs in shame” while lamenting the “complete unsympathetic attitude” of the DDA on payment of compensation to the victims’ families. On September 12, the high court had taken suo motu cognisance of the two deaths and directed that a PIL be registered.
It had termed as “egregious” the “apathy” of DDA over the deaths. The matter will be heard next on December 15.
