Legal Interventions

Legal Interventions in Cases of Deaths during Manual Scavenging

Till 2013, The Employment of Manual Scavenger and Construction of Dry Laterines (Prohibition) Act 1993 was in force which prohibited construction of dry latrines and employment of persons as manual scavengers. But the 1993 Act penalized both the person employing and the person employed. As a result, not a single case under the Act was brought forward. The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act 2013, reversed this and penalized only the employer while expanding the definition of manual scavenging to include not just disposing of excreta from dry latrines but also cleaning of sewers, soak pits or open drains which brought workers in touch with the excreta. The years before and passing of the Act had seen repeated incidents of deaths of persons while engaged in cleaning work in the nature of manual scavenging. Safaikarmachari Kavulu Samithi (SKKS) has been inquiring into incidents of such fatalities occurring during acts of manual scavenging and fighting for justice for the families of the victims including compensation as per Supreme Court Directions in Safaikarmachari Andolan vs UOI and the provisions of the 2013 Act. Along with this, SKKS along with human rights organizations, also ensure that FIRs are filed against the guilty officials and contractors as per Sec 5, 6, 7 and 8 of the 2013 Act.

Till June 2021, 90 persons had died in cases of manual scavenging as per the data maintained by SKKS and PUCL-Karnataka.

Table 1: List of Manual Scavenging deaths maintained by PUCL – Karnataka and
Safaikarmachari Kavulu Samithi – Karnataka

Sl. No.Date and place of accidentVictims
15th May 1995 at Karinanjanpur, Harijan Beedhi, Kondadamaalaga, Chamarakanagara1 person deceased:
Shri Chinnaswamy
23rd December 1998 at Channarayapayna, Hassan3 person deceased:
Shri Maranna, Shri Narasimharaju and Shri Nagaraju
32001-02 in Mysuru district1 person deceased
Shri Shrishankar (27 years)
49th April 2008 at K.R. Nagar in Mysore district2 persons deceased:
Shri Kariya (38 years) and Shri Lakshmanna (40) and 4 persons injured
55th July 2008 at Velankanni Pvt. Ltd. in Electronic City, Bangalore2 persons deceased:
Shri Krishnappa, (35 years) and Shri Ramchandra (25 years) and 1 person injured
614th November 2008 at dairy circle near Telecom Exchange Quarters, Yelahanka New Town, Bangalore3 persons deceased:
Shri Amaresh (23 years), Shri Narasimha (32 years) and Shri Srinivas (23 years)
79th May 2009 at Karimsaab Layout (also known as Srigandhanagar), Hegganahalli Cross, Peenya 2nd Stage, Bangalore3 persons deceased:
Shri Rajanna (35 years), Shri Shivu, (33 years) and Shri Pampanna, (35 years)
811th December 2010 at R.T.O. in Kolar city2 persons deceased:
Shri Manjunath and Shri Rajanna
99th July, 2011, at Poornarama Coffee Estate at Kenchammana Hoskote, Alur Taluk, Hassan District2 persons deceased:
Shri Mahadeva and Shri Arjuna
1024th October, 2011, at Kolar Gold Fields3 persons deceased:
Shri Kutty Prasad, Shri Nagendra Babu, and Shri Ravi
116th November, 2011 in Kinnigoli town, Dakshina Kannada district1 person deceased:
Shri Kitta Koraga
1217th December, 2011 in Tiptur, Tumkur District2 person deceased:
Shri Jagadish and Shri Dharma
1316th February, 2012 in Dharwad1 person deceased:
Shri Yakub Yalapati and 1 person injured
1414th July, 2012 in Arakere, Bannerghatta Road 2 persons deceased:
Shri Shankarappa from Gulbarga and Shri Bogan from Andhra Pradesh
1522nd July, 2012 in Channayakpuri, Hubli2 persons deceased
Shri Ramesh and Shri Santosh
1623rd November, 2012 in Royal Orchid hotel, Shimoga2 persons deceased
Shri Annappa and Shri Ratnakar
171st April 2013 at Girija slum, Mandya town1 person deceased
Shri Rangappa
1828th April, 2013 to 1st May, 2013 at Raichur1 person deceased
Shri Venkatesh
1925th October 2013 in Peenya, Bangalore 2 persons deceased
Shri. Prahalad Kumar and Shri. Rohit Kumar
2018th January, 2014 at K.P. Agrahara, Bangalore1 person deceased
Shri Chenchaiah
212nd March 2014, Kalpana Lodge, Mysore 1 person dead
Kumar 29yrs
2230th August 2014at Mahadevapura, Bengaluru1 person deceased
2324th September, 2014 Saray Palya, Nagwaara, Bangalore2 persons dead
Sridhar, Davanagere and Pandri, Kudligi
241st April 2015, Hubli2 Persons dead
Suphal, West Bengal, Hanumantha, Telangana
255th May 2015, Kamdoli Village, Kundagola, Hubli2 Persons dead
Krishna (32) and Maaruti Gollar (35) residents of Kundagol town
2626th May 2015 at Kemmanagudi, Kirshnarajendra Giridhama, Pravasi Mandira, Chikkamangalur1 person deceased
Shri Narasimha
275th July, Yelhanka at Attur Layout
Bangalore
2 Persons dead
Shamim Akhtar (19) from West Bengal and Sharanegowda Patil (23) from Kalburgi
2818 August 2015 at Jayamahal Extension near H Anjaneya & U T Khadar residence2 persons dead
Prasanna Kumar, Tumkur district
Yathiraj @ Seit, Kadugondanahally
298 November 2015 at a house in Raghuvanahalli on Kanakpura Main Road2 Persons dead
Srinivas (45) and his son Bhaskar (24) from Guntur district
3028, November 2015, Saraswathi Puram, Tumkur2 persons dead
Narasimha murthy and Chikkanna, Kuripalya colony, Tumkur
3114th December 2015, Royal Apartment, Electronic city, Bangalore3 persons dead,
Jagadeesh, KR Pet Mandya, Ranjeeth,Balasoore, Odissa, Mahesh from Nepal
323rd April 2016 at Kasbagh Road in Sirnigar in Doddaballapura Town
4 persons dead,
Muniswamy, Shravanur, Dharmapuri dist, TN, Jaganath, Moolathimmanhalli, Palmaneru taluk, Chittur, dist.
Citizens went to rescue them also dead are Madhu Vanniganahalli, Doddaballapur taluk and Muniraj, Hamam village, Doddaballapur taluk.
3318th Oct 2016
Shantiniwas Apartments, Near Yeshwantpur Railway Stattion, Bengaluru
2 persons dead,
Venkatramana (24), Dalit, Madhugiri taluk, Tumkur
Manjunath (30), Lingayat, Mysuru
347th March 2017
Kaggadaspura Main Road,
Opp Centre for Artifical Intelligence and Robotics, C V Raman Nagar
Bengaluru
3 Persons dead,
Erraiah (35) Srikakulam
Davitha Naidu (40), Srikakulam
Anjaneya Reddy (34), Prakasham
Erraiah and Davitha went inside a manhole. When Anajaneya Reddy went to rescue he also died.
(All married with 2 children each)
359th May 2017
Udbur Village, 15 Km from Mysuru City
1 Person dead,
Manju (30), Dalit was electrocuted while cleaning a septic tank.
362nd June 2017
Jatti Dwaraka Apartments
ECC Road, Whitefield Bangalore
1 Person dead
Prithivi Raj (23) died while Raju (17) and Dinesh (24) survived while cleaning a STP
377 Feb 2018, Prestige Langleigh Apartment complex,
Whitefield, Bengaluru
1 person dead:
Shri Rajappa (38)
386 Jan 2018
N D Sepal Apartments, Somasundarpallya, Bengaluru
3 Person dead
Madegowda (45), Srinivas (52) and contractor Narayanswamy (43) died while cleaning STP
3913 Feb 2018
Yumloka Resaturant, AECS Layout, Bengaluru
2 persons dead
Ramu (25) and Ravi (28) died while cleaning STP
406 Aug 2018
RML Nagara, Dodapette PS, Shivamogga Town
2 persons dead
Venkatesh (40) and Benchikattaiah Anjanappa (18) from Bilachodu Hobli, Jaglur Taluka, Davangere
412 March 2019
Jai Hind International School, Beguru PS, Bengaluru
1 person dead
Manu (25), from Hongasandra near Bomanahalli
422 April 2019
Indi, Vijayapura
3 persons dead:
Shri Nabi Lal Rehman Saab Yekkewal (26)
Shri Budusaab Bhagwaan (45)
Shri Mudukappa Kattimani (35)
4327 April 2019
Kadugondanahalli
Bengaluru
2 persons deceased:
Shri Gafoor Pasha (45)
and Shri Aftab Pasha (38)
4411 August 2019
Karwar, Uttara Kannada
1 Person deceased
Shri Kuttaiah (51)
4525 Januray 2020
Bengaluru
2 person deceased
Shri Sidappa (18) and Shri Muniyanna (45)
4628 January 2021
Gulbarga
2 person deceased
Rashid (34) and Lal Ahmed (30)
4704 June 2021
Ramanagara
3 person deceased
Rajesha (32), Manjunatha (32) and Manjunatha (32)

Based on the data compiled by PUCL-Karnataka and Safaikarmachari Kavulu Samithi – Karnataka and archival research from newspaper reports, the Karnataka State Safaikarmachari Commission had compiled the following official list. The discrepancy between the two lists is on account of the fact that, for inclusion in the official list, there has to be a FIR in the police station. Although in most cases where SKKS intervened, FIRs have been filed, there are some cases where that was not the case and hence they have not been included in the official list for providing compensation.

As on 05.08.2017, out of 6.7 crores to be provided as compensation (67 x 10 Lakhs), the government had disbursed 3.95 crores to the families of the deceased.

Table 2: List of Manual Scavenging deaths till 2017 maintained by Karnataka State Safaikarmachari Commission

S. No. YearDistrictDate of IncidentName of the MS/SKAge (years)Place of Incident
1234567
11995-96Chamrajnagara05.05.1995ChinnaswamiKarinanjanapura, Harijana Beedi, Kondadamalade, Chamrajanagara
21998-99Hassan03.12.1998MarannaChennarayapatana, Hassan
31998-99Hassan03.12.1998Narsimharaju
41998-99Hassan03.12.1998Nagaraju
52001-02MysuruShankarMysuru
62007-08Hubli-Dharwad06.04.2007Shankar KumarHubli-Dharwad
72007-08Hubli-Dharwad06.04.2007Shivaputrappa
82008-09Mysuru09.04.2008Kariya38K R Nagar, Mysuru
92008-09Mysuru09.04.2008Lakshmana40
102008-09Bangalore05.07.2008Krishnappa35Velankanna Pvt. Ltd
112008-09Bangalore05.07.2008Ramchandra25Electronic City
122008-09Bangalore14.11.2008Amaresh23Yelhanka New Town (Dairy Circle)
132008-09Bangalore14.11.2008Narasimha32
142008-09Bangalore14.11.2008Srinivas23
152009-10Bangalore9.05.2009Rajanna35Karim Saab Layout, Penya, 2 nd Stage
162009-10Bangalore9.05.2009Shivu33
172009-10Bangalore9.05.2009Pampanna35
182010-11Kolar11.12.2010ManjunathRTO Kolar City
192010-11Kolar11.12.2010Rajanna
202011-12Hassan09.07.2011MahadevaPoornarama Coffee Estate, Kenchammana Hoskote, Alluru Taluka, Hassan
212011-12Hassan09.07.2011Arjun
222011-12Kolar24.10.2011Kutti PrasadKGF, Kolar
232011-12Kolar24.10.2011Nangendra Babu
242011-12Kolar24.10.2011Ravi
252011-12Dakshina Kannada06.11.2011Kitta KoragaKinnigoli Town, Dakshina Kannada
262011-12Tumkuru17.12.2011JagadishTipturu, Tumkuru
272011-12Tumkuru17.12.2011Dharma
282011-12Dharwad16.02.2012Yakoob YalapatiDharwad
292012-13Bangalore14.07.2012ShankarappaArekere, Bannerghatta Road
302012-13Bangalore14.07.2012Bogaan
312012-13Hubli22.07.2012RameshChanakyapuri, Hubbali
322012-13Hubli22.07.2012Santosh
332012-13Shivamogga23.11.2012AnappaRoyal Orchid Hotel, Shivamogga
342012-13Shivamogga23.11.2012Ratnakara
352013-14Mandya01.04.2013RangaswamyGirija Slum, Mandya Town
362013-14Raichuru28.04.2013VenkateshRaichuru
372013-14Bangalore25.10.2013Prahlad KumarPenya, Bengaluru
382013-14Bangalore25.10.2013Rohit Kumar
392013-14Mysuru03.03.2014KumarMysuru
402014-15Chikkabalapurra06.04.2014NakshatraShankarapura, Chikkabalapura
412013-14Bangalore24.09.2014Shridhar Nagarajappa20Naagwara
422013-14Bangalore24.09.2014Badrimarappa22
432015-16Hubli01.04.2015HanumantavardayyaHubli-Dharwad
442015-16Hubli01.04.2015Sufal Biswas
452015-16Hubli05.05.2015Krishna32Kamdoli Village, Kundagola, Hubli
462015-16Hubli05.05.2015Maaruti35
472015-16Chikkamangaluru26.05.2015NarasimhaKammanugundi, Krishnarajendra Giridhama, Pravasi Mandira, Chikkamangaluru
482015-16Bangalore05.07.2015Shamim Akhtar19Yelhanka, Bengaluru
492015-16Bangalore05.07.2015Sharanegowda Patil23
502015-16Bangalore15.08.2015Setu alias Suresh21Jayamahal
512015-16Bangalore18.08.2015Prasanna Kumar24Jayamahal
522015-16Tumkuru29.11.2015Chikanna37Saraswatipuram, Tumkuru
532015-16Tumkuru29.11.2015Narasimhamurthy52
542015-16Bangalore14.12.2015Jagadish23Chikkabeguru, Bengaluru
552015-16Bangalore14.12.2015Mahesh22
562015-16Bangalore14.12.2015Rajan22
572016-17Bengaluru Rural03.04.2016Madhu21Doddaballapura, Bengaluru Rural
582016-17Bengaluru Rural03.04.2016Muniraju23
592016-17Bengaluru Rural03.04.2016Jagannath35
602016-17Bengaluru Rural03.04.2016Muniswami45
612016-17Bangalore18.10.2016Venkatesh24RNS Shantiniwas, Yeshwantpur, Bengaluru
622016-17Bangalore18.10.2016Majunath32
632016-17Bangalore06.03.2017Anjaneyya Reddy35Kaggadaspura Main Road, CV Raman Nagar, Bengaluru
642016-17Bangalore06.03.2017Datta Eriya35
652016-17Bangalore06.03.2017Tatta Tavitha40
662017-18Bangalore24.05.2017Prithvi Raj24ECC Road, Jatti Dwarkamayi Apartments, Whitefield, Bengaluru
672017-18Mysuru09.05.2017Manjunath30Udbur Village, Doora GP, Mysuru