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9. This then brings to fore another dimension to the social evil involving deaths of sanitation workers and/or manual scavengers. Where such persons belong to the scheduled castes (SCs) or the scheduled tribes (ST), the provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of // 7 // Atrocities) Act, 1989(‗SC/ST POA Act') might get attracted. In particular Section 2 (1) (bf) of the SC/ST POA Act defines ‗manual scavenger' to have the same meaning assigned to that expression in Section 2 (1) (g) of the PEMSR Act. Under Section 3 (1) (j) of the SC/ST POA Act, making a member of a SC or ST do manual scavenging or employing or permitting the employment of such member for such purpose by a person not belonging to the SC or ST is described as an offence of atrocity punishable with simple imprisonment for a minimum six months and a maximum of five years and with fine. Under Rule 12 (4) of the SC/ST POA Rules, 1995 the District Magistrate has been made responsible for ensuring relief in cash and kind to victims of atrocity, in terms of Annexure I and II to the Schedule to the said Rules. For the atrocity defined in Section 3 (1) (j) of the SC/ST POA Act, a compensation of Rs. 1 lakh to the victim is contemplated.

10. Turning to the two incidents at hand, the Court is conscious that the Secretary, Housing & Urban Development Department, Govt. of Odisha has ordered a joint probe into the Cuttack incident by the Deputy Commissioner (Enforcement), Cuttack Municipal Corporation and the Sadar Tahsildar, Cuttack. Further it appears that the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has called for a report on the incident at Bhubaneswar.

11. Nevertheless, this Court considers it appropriate to take suo motu notice of the tragic deaths of sanitation workers in the two recent incidents at Bhubaneswar and Cuttack in order to // 8 // ensure that the above directions of the Supreme Court and all the relevant provisions of the PEMSR Act and the Rules thereunder are implemented in letter and spirit. Further, this should not be limited to the above two incidents, but others that have taken place since 1993, as directed by the Supreme Court in para 23.3 of its judgment in Safai Karmachari Andolan v. Union of India (supra). The Court also considers it necessary to examine the various legal issues that arise from such incidents, including the applicability of the SC/ST POA Act and the Rules thereunder.

12. In taking suo motu notice of the incidents, this Court would like to recapitulate the following observations of the Supreme Court of India in Delhi Jal Board v. National Campaign for Dignity & Rights of Sewerage & Allied Workers (2011) 8 SCC 568, made while negativing the challenge to an interlocutory order passed by the Delhi High Court mandating payment of a compensation of Rs.2.25 lakhs for the death of a sanitation worker:

―It is the duty of the judicial constituent of the State like its political and executive constituents to protect the rights of every citizen and every individual and ensure that everyone is able to live with dignity. Given the option, no one would like to enter the manhole of sewage system for cleaning purposes, but there are people who are forced to undertake such hazardous jobs with the hope that at the end of the day they will be able to make some money and feed their family. They risk their lives for the comfort of others. Unfortunately, for last few decades, a substantial segment of the urban society has become insensitive to the plight of the poor and downtrodden including those, who, on account of sheer economic compulsions, // 9 // undertake jobs/works which are inherently dangerous to life. People belonging to this segment do not want to understand why a person is made to enter manhole without safety gears and proper equipments. They look the other way when the body of a worker who dies in the manhole is taken out with the help of ropes and cranes. In this scenario, the Courts are not only entitled but are under constitutional obligation to take cognizance of the issues relating to the lives of the people who are forced to undertake jobs which are hazardous and dangerous to life. It will be a tragic and sad day when the superior Courts will shut their doors for those, who without any motive for personal gain or other extraneous reasons, come forward to seek protection and enforcement of the legal and constitutional rights of the poor, downtrodden and disadvantaged sections of the society.‖

16. Before the next date, the Collector, Cuttack, the Collector, Khurda, the Commissioner, CMC and the Commissioner, BMC will each file an affidavit of compliance with the above directions. The State of Odisha will file a separate affidavit before the next date listing out the steps it has taken thus far to implement, in letter and spirit, the various provisions of the PEMSR Act and the Rules thereunder, as well as the EMSCDLP Act, including statistics relating to deaths of sanitation workers since 1993, the compensation paid in respect of each such death, whether the identified manual scavenger and/or sewer/septic tank cleaner has been rehabilitated and whether the parties who violated the law have been prosecuted and punished according to law. Separate affidavits shall be filed, again by the next date, by Opposite Parties (iv) and (ix) explaining why the sanitation workers who died in the tragic incidents at Cuttack and Bhubaneshwar respectively were asked to undertake hazardous cleaning of the sewer line and septic tank.