Question

In the early 1980s, a social activist group discovered severe exploitation of labourers working in stone quarries near Delhi. The workers, including many children, were working in extremely hazardous conditions, living in makeshift shelters, and were effectively trapped in a cycle of debt and forced labour. The conditions revealed systematic violations of fundamental human rights. The Supreme Court was approached to look into the dire circumstances of the working persons there and one of the following views of the Court was sustained in the said case, identify from the following:

• A. The Court established that the right to free legal aid is a mere directive principle and cannot be enforced as a fundamental right.
• B. The judgment primarily focused on providing monetary compensation to affected laborers without addressing systemic issues of bonded labor.
• C. The Supreme Court recognized the right against forced labor as a fundamental right under Article 21, derived from the right to life and dignity.
• D. The Court ruled that only government agencies, not social activists, could file petitions concerning labor rights.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is C

This case likely refers to the landmark judgment in the case of People’s Union for Civil Liberties v. Union of India, where the Supreme Court recognized the right against forced labour as a fundamental right derived from the right to life and human dignity under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. This judgment had a significant impact on the recognition and enforcement of labor rights in India.