SC orders states to identify kids working as domestic help

The Supreme Court has directed all states to conduct surveys to identify minors employed as domestic help.

On Monday, a bench of justices KS Radhakrishnan and Dipak Misra in a judgement said fresh surveys must be conducted to divulge the number of child labourers across the country even after the enactment of the Right To Education Act.

The bench reportedly even directed all gram panchayats and local bodies to report instances of bonded labour to district authorities.

"Large numbers of children are working as domestic helps in the urban, town and rural areas with no chance to go to schools even though education up to standard VIII is compulsory under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009," the bench said.

"Local panchayats and local bodies should identify such children and ensure that they get proper education. We are not unmindful of the fact that in some households they treat the domestic help just like their children and give food, clothing and education but they are exception," the Press Trust of India quoted Justice Radhakrishnan as saying.

The court directed the district magistrates and the states/ UTs to see that the Minimum Wages Act, the Workmen Compensation Act, the Inter-State Migrant Workmen Act Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act were properly and effectively implemented.

Further, it also ordered that fresh surveys must be conducted periodically once in three years in all states/UTs in accordance with the provisions of the Act and the revised report.

The court called for special attention to sectors such as brick kilns, stone quarries, crushing mines, beedi and carpet manufacturing units, construction industry, agriculture, urban unorganised and informal sector, power looms and cotton handlooms, fish processing industry among others.

The court asked the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to monitor its directions and asked all states and Union Territories to submit their reports to the Commission.