Case primary details

Fact finding date

Case Incident details

Case summary

(1)   Sh.Binder Singh @ Ranga Maan, aged 45 years, S/o Sh. Kartar Singh R/o Village - Bhuttiwala, Sub–Divison- Gidderbaha, District- Shri Muktsar Sahib has approached to the office of the above organization and has narrated the below mentioned facts:-

(a)  That he belongs to caste “Majhabi Sikh” which has been declared as a Scheduled Caste by the State Government of Punjab.

(b)   That since the last two years, he was employed by the employer  Maan Singh @ Mani S/o Jaswant Singh R/o Village- Bhuttiwala, Sub Division- Gidderbaha, District -Shri Muktsar Sahib, who belongs to “Jatt Sikh” community which is a non scheduled caste, to work as “Seri”(Agriculture labourer).  The wife of the victim named Charanjit Kaur was also employed by the employer, as servant for cleaning animal’s dung, animal’s sheds, excreta etc. since the last five years.

(c)  That when he was employed by the employer Maan Singh @ Mani he was given Rs. 25,000 (Rupees Twenty Five Thousand) as an advance which he used to renovate his house. The employer has fixed his wages Rs. 50,000 (Rupees Fifty Thousand) per year.

(d)  That the bonded keeper was not paying the wages of the workers. When they demanded their earned wages from him, then he flatly refused to give them money. On their repeated requests, the employer hardly gives Binder Singh Rs. 50-100 after three months. The employer did not pay the wages of the wife of Binder Singh, so she was forced to leave the employment of the employer since the last two years. She has hardly managed to meet her household expenses so under these circumstances, she had no other choice but to leave the employment.

(e)  That after completing his one year’s work, the employer in the year 2014 has incurred the bonded debt of Rs. 25,500 (Rupees Twenty Five Thousand Five Hundred) towards the bonded labourer Binder Singh, so in order to repay the bonded debt, the victim was again being forced to join the services of the bonded keeper as Siri.

(f)   That the bonded labourer Binder Singh @ Ranga Maan was working in the fields of the employer from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. During the wheat and paddy transplantation season, the bonded keeper takes work from him for the continuous period of three months. He was working in the fields of the employer during whole day even in the night also. The employer was not even allowing him to go to his home, when he makes him many requests then he was granting leave to him for one night only.

(g)  That in the year 2015, at the time of employment, the employer was giving Rs. 10,000 (Rupees Ten Thousand) to Binder Singh as an advance and was also giving Rs. 1000 (Rupees One Thousand) to his wife Charanjit Kaur for their household expenses. The bonded labourer Binder Singh has spent the amount of Rs. 10,000 to build the wall of his house.

(h)  That for the year 2015, the employer has fixed his wages Rs. 52,000 (Rupees Fifty Two Thousand) per year. The employer did not pay him his hard earned wages and when he demanded his wages from him then he imposed the bonded debt upon him and refused to give him money for his necessary expenses.

(i)    That the employer has provided three times meal to the worker.

(j)    That the employer did not allow him any weekly rest and also not paying wages for his overtime work. When he could not be able to attend the work due to sickness or any other urgent work then he has imposed a fine upon him according to his will and desires.

(k)  That one day, when the bonded labourer Binder Singh was working in the field of the employer then the son of employer named Nishan Singh has abused him and started quarrelling with him, after that the worker came back to his house. After some time when the worker went to the market of Muktsar for purchasing some necessary things then the employer Mann Singh along with some persons whose names are Nishan Singh S/o Maan Singh, Bhola Singh, Balla Singh, Harjinder Singh, Bant Singh, Bagga Singh, attacked upon him and the son of employer named Nishan Singh has struck his head with cane (lathi) and he become unconscious. All these persons then by using their powers bring the bonded labourer at the Court of Muktsar and forcibly and unlawfully take his signature on some papers.

(l)    That the employer are extracting bonded labour from him and when he demanded his wages from the employer then he imposed the bonded debt of Rs. 35000 (Rupees Thirty Five Thousand) upon him.

(m)That now the employer are abusing him on caste basis and threatening him that if he will not repay the bonded debt or will stop to work for him, then he will beat him and will forcibly take work from and will lodge some false and frivolous complaint against him and will also forcibly take into possession his dwelling house.

(n)  That now Binder Singh does not wants to continue his services with the employer Maan Singh as he has abused him on caste basis, has not pay his wages and now when he desired to left his work then he has imposed a bonded debt on him and is taking force labour from him.

(o)  That the worker was forced to leave the employment being under threats of losing his house to the employer and also to escape the constant abuse by the employer. The employer has not paid his hard earned wages and on the other hand has even imposed a bonded debt against him.

(2)   The main questions involved in the complaint are as under:-

              I.        Whether, the employer is in violation of S.4 of the The Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act 1976?

             II.        Whether, Binder Singh was subjected to the bonded labour system as defined under S. 2 (g) of the said Act by his employer Maan Singh?

            III.        Whether, by recruiting the victim in order to exploit his labour and subject him to the bonded labour system, amounts to an offence of trafficking under section 370 of Indian Penal Code 1860?

           IV.        Whether there is violation of the labour legislations and Rules under Minimum Wages Act, 1948; Payment of Wages Act, 1936 and The Punjab Industrial Establishment (National And Festival Holidays And Casual And Sick Leave) Act, 1965, by the employer?

            V.        Whether, the Constitutional guarantees under Articles 15, 17, 21 and 23 have been eluded to the victim Binder Singh?