Summary:
The Gujarat High Court on Tuesday lambasted the state government for the submitting a shoddy affidavit in response to an earlier direction by the court to take concrete steps to put an end to the inhumane practice of manual scavenging prevalent in the state. The court remarked: "We are at pain to record that the last affidavit placed on record does not reveal any tangible, concrete, reckonable steps taken for radical manual scavenging prevalent in this part". Instead, the court said, the state has tried to pass on its proposed road map as concrete steps. Meanwhile, the court also demanded that the state should clarify the actions taken and explanation for not invoking the provisions of the Act in reported cases of manual scavenging deaths. COURT REMARKWe are at pain to record that the last affidavit placed on record does not reveal any tangible, concrete, reckonable steps taken for radical manual scavenging prevalent in this part (Guj).