Karnataka HC takes note of students made to clean septic tank, terms manual scavenging a ‘shame on humanity’

“After more than 60 years still somebody who is our brother in society, merely due to his misfortune, was born in a particular community, carrying the stamp of one caste is required to do these things. Is it not a shame on humanity? Is this what we all are here for?” it asked.

Though the country is proud of its technical advancements, the bench said there is no change in the mindset of people.

“Why are we making our brothers do these things when there are technical advancements to clean the pits but there is no change in the mindset?”

Also Read: Government school students in Bengaluru forced to clean toilets

‘Reached the moon yet this continues’

Machines could be employed for manual scavenging which cost only ₹2,000 per hour, the bench pointed out.

Referring to ISRO’s Chandrayaan-3 mission, the bench said, “You can’t sleep with this. You just can’t be concentrating or anything when these things are still happening in society when on the one hand, for rightful reasons, we say we reached the moon just two months back. We are proud of it. Same time, we are not treating our brothers as human beings,”

“Is it not a shame? Is this what we all are here for? Merely because somebody is facing financial difficulty, should he lead a life as bad as an animal?” the court questioned.

“Today a person residing in the smallest villages in Karnataka is aware of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, but people still say they know nothing of the manual scavenging Act,” it said.

“What happened in Kolar is a crime. The government should stop the caste drama. The Constitution also says there should be no discrimination. Malur was only a representation of what was happening on the ground. In 2023 alone, there have been 93 deaths of manual scavengers across India,” it added.

Also Read: Principal held for engaging 6 students in manual scavenging

Three incidents

Karnataka has seen three incidents of school students being forced to engage in manual scavenging in December.

In early December, a school principal and an art teacher of the Morarji Desai Residential School at Yaluvahalli in the Malur taluk engaged six students in manual scavenging work — cleaning the school hostel’s septic tank.

Subsequently, the principal and the staff responsible were arrested by the Kolar police on 18 December.

The officials also learnt that around three of the six students who were engaged in manual scavenging work belonged to Dalit families.

Close on the heels of the Kolar incident, another case of pupils being allegedly asked to clean toilets at a government school in Bengaluru came to light.

In a viral video, some of the students were purportedly seen cleaning the toilet at Andrahalli in the city.

Following the incident, parents of students expressed outrage and staged a protest outside the school campus demanding strict action against its administration. Following this, the Education Department suspended the headmistress of the school.

On 28 December, another video of students cleaning toilets was widely circulated online. This incident was reported from a government-run school in Bhadravati taluk of Shivamogga district where students of Class 6 were allegedly asked to clean toilets.

However, when the senior officials of the Education Department confronted the headmaster, he told them that the students were only asked to pour water and not clean the toilets.

A senior Education Department officer earlier told PTI that “The Block Education Officer has submitted a report, based on which I have initiated disciplinary action against the headmaster of the school. This is unacceptable and so, we have suspended Headmaster Shankarappa in connection with the incident in the school last week.”

Related: Students made to clean toilets, the third incident this month

Officials condemn the incidents

Karnataka Primary and Secondary Education Minister Madhu Bangarappa condemned the incidents and termed them “shocking” and “deplorable”.

“… there is no doubt that we will take the strictest action as per law. Further, I will ensure that such incidents don’t repeat and will ensure that all action is taken by our department,” he said.

The apex child rights body, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), has directed the Karnataka police to probe the reported incident where six students, including three Dalit students, were allegedly forced to clean a septic tank used for human waste disposal.

The NCPCR, in a letter addressed to the Kolar Deputy Commissioner, expressed deep concern over the gravity of the reported incident and sought an action taken report within three days from the date of receipt of the communication.

A separate POSCO case has been registered against the art teacher for videographing female students while they were at their hostel, intruding on their privacy.

(With PTI inputs)