Now, judicial magistrate to try accused in bonded labour cases

This came after the Madras High Court on Monday dismissed the review petition that the Centre filed seeking a review of its 2014 judgment that had struck out this clause in Section 21 of the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976.

In 2014, the Madras High Court bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Satish K Agnihotri and Justice M Sathyanarayanan, while presiding over a writ petition by C Gajendran of Tiruvallur, had struck out Section 21 of the Act, citing it as a violation of Article 50 of the Indian Constitution. Prior to that, RDOs or Tahsildars were not only in charge of rescue and rehabilitation of the bonded labourers but also in charge of the prosecution of the accused. This often translated to spending a day in RDO’s office and a minor fine – which did little to change the scenario. 

“Gajendran’s case was pending with the RDO for a long time. That was when he filed the petition for abolishing Section 21 and diverting the files to the Magistrate so that he could get justice,” said David Sunder Singh, counsel for the victim. 

However, the Centre had immediately filed a review petition, which was dismissed by the Madras High Court four years later. “The petition was dismissed on Monday. The presiding judge also said that for a Central Act – like the one in question – one High Court striking down a provision is applicable across the country until any contradictory order is passed by a High Court in another city or Supreme Court,” said the advocate.

From now on, those accused of bonded labour would be tried by the judicial magistrate. “The RDO will be in charge of the rescue and rehabilitation but the prosecution will be through a charge sheet filed to the judicial magistrate and the case will be conducted as criminal proceedings,” said David. 

The move has been lauded by activists. “When an RDO conducts a trial, there is no police official present. Generally, the offender must wait until rising of the court, until evening. Then, they are let off with a minimal fine. In the RDO office, the offenders don’t feel guilty. Imagine this: a family is in bondage for decades, even generations, but the offender must spend a day at the RDO’s office and gets off with a fine. But once the police arrest and the case is tried in the environs of a court, the prosecution will be a deterrent,” said an activist, who has been involved in rescuing and rehabilitating bonded labours.  

Thanks to a vigilant RDO and social activist from International Justice Mission (IJM), three families were rescued from bonded labour from Palanisamy powerloom unit in Devankurichi village in Tiruchengode in Namakkal. Three families, comprising three men, three women and three children, were rescued from the site. “Two of the families were from Salem while one is from Courtallam,” said Baskaran, the RDO.  

On further inquiry, it was found that the middleman who recruited these families has been moving them to different places of work within the same location – for 10 years. One family was in the throes of bonded labour for four years, while two were trapped for a year. Each family was paid Rs 500 per week. The inquiry is going on, and steps are being taken to file an FIR and issue release certificates to enable these families access to the rehabilitation amount.