MADURAI: The failure of government officials to assist the court properly has led to the Madras High Court Bench here quashing the proceedings of Virudhunagar district administration in a child labour case.
The proceedings had been issued by a Personal Assistant to Virudhunagar Collector on June 29, 2007 directing S. Dhanalakshmi, a convict in a child labour case to deposit Rs.2 lakh, at the rate of Rs.20,000 for every child labourer engaged by her in a match industry in Sivakasi, in Child Labour Rehabilitiation-cum-Welfare Fund as ordered by the Supreme Court in the famous M.C. Mehta’s case in 1996.
Allowing a writ petition filed by the convict in 2009, Justice M.V. Muralidaran quashed the proceedings since the officials failed to produce officials records that led to the demand of Rs.2 lakh from the petitioner and explain the basis for having made such a demand. The judge pointed out that the Inspector of Factories in Sivakasi had even failed to mention the correct case number of the apex court judgement in his counter affidavit.
“Unfortunately, the proposal dated August 9, 2006 and the memorandum of instructions dated July 24, 2007 were not placed before this court in spite of time granted by this court. So, in the absence of those records, this court is unable to accept the contentions raised by the 4th respondent (Inspector),” the judge said.
While defending the case, the officials failed to bring it to the notice of the High Court that the Supreme Court had on December 10, 1996 directed all State governments in the country to create Child Labour Rehabilitation-cum-Welfare Fund district wise or area wise by collecting a compensation of Rs. 20,000 per child labourer from the offending employers.
The SC orders were passed on a public interest litigation petition filed by advocate M.C. Mehta in 1986 on the premises that as on December 31, 1985, there were 221 registered match factories in Sivakasi employing 27,338 workmen of whom 2,941 were children.
While disposing of that case, the Supreme Court said: “In our country, Sivakasi was one taken as the worst offender in the matter of violating prohibition on employing child labour.”
