The Bombay High Court has issued an interim order directing the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) to refrain from demanding heirship or succession certificates for the grant of compensation to the kin of sewage workers who lost their lives while cleaning sewers or septic tanks, provided there are no disputes among the claimants. The court passed this order while considering a writ petition filed by Shramik Janta Sangh, which highlighted the undue delay in the payment of compensation to the bereaved families of deceased sewage workers.
Brief Facts:
The TMC had adopted a Resolution to compensate the family members of deceased sewage workers with an amount of Rs. 10,00,000/- each, who lost their lives while cleaning sewers or septic tanks of private buildings or cooperative societies. However, the insistence on the production of heirship or succession certificates had led to unnecessary delays and additional financial burdens for the bereaved families, as pointed out by Senior Advocate Gayatri Singh, representing the petitioners.
Observations by the Court:
The Court emphasized that the TMC's demand for heirship or succession certificates was causing significant delays in providing compensation to the rightful beneficiaries, which contradicted the directions issued by the Supreme Court in the case of Safai Karamchari Andolan and Ors vs. Union of India & Ors on March 27, 2014. The Supreme Court had specifically ordered the payment of Rs. 10 lakhs as compensation to the families of deceased sewage workers who died while working in sewers or septic tanks since 1993. The Court stressed the need for prompt rehabilitation based on principles of justice and transformation.
The Court acknowledged the TMC's concerns about preventing fraudulent claims but noted that it was unrealistic to assume that in every case of a sewage worker's death, there would be competing claims among relatives. Therefore, the Court deemed the TMC's insistence on the procurement of heirship/succession certificates in every case as unjustified. Instead, the requirement for such certificates should be limited to cases where disputes exist among the claimants.
One such incident cited in the TMC's reply affidavit involved the deaths of three sewage workers on May 9, 2021. While compensation was released to only one worker's family after a delay of two years, the remaining two families are still awaiting compensation due to the ongoing proceedings for the issuance of heirship/succession certificates.
The decision of the Court:
The TMC has been directed to verify the documents submitted in pending cases and release compensation within four weeks if there are no disputes.
The petition will be further considered on August 24, as the Court continues to address the issue of timely and compassionate compensation for the families of deceased sewage workers.
Case Name: Shramik Janta Sangh & Ors. v. State of Maharashtra & Ors.
Coram: Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur and Justice Sandeep V. Marne
Case No.: Writ Petition No. 1570 of 2023
Advocates of the Petitioners: Ms. Gayatri Singh, Senior Advocate a/w Ms. Madhavi Gomathieswaran i/b Ms. Deepali Kasul for the Petitioners.
Advocates of the Respondent: Mr. R.P. Kadam, AGP for Respondent Nos.1, 3 and 4-State. Mr. R.S. Apte, Senior Advocate i/b Mr. Ajit R. Pitale a/w Mr. Ameya A. Pitale for Respondent No.2.
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