This article is written by Sommya Chaturvedi, an advocate practising at Rajasthan High court.
The Guardian of all the living beings within the territory and residents of the soon to be super power country, the Constitution of India is failing to offer even bread butter and survival to the ones who contribute the most in making us live and afford luxuries. The basic cell of the civil society whether in terms of production, housing, housekeeping, construction and the sole reason we are able to sleep with a roof over our heads are being are battling the worse in this game of survival of the fittest.
India and the globe altogether are in a situation which was not anticipated by the top-class leaders, policy makers and all the brightest of brains running the country and henceforth we are all in a battle to deal with the health emergency i.e., outbreak of COVID-19 and still planning to deal with it in a planned manner. Nonetheless we are already in the middle of the disaster and further leading to a much and heavy loss if timely and proactive steps are not undertaken by the legislature, executive and judiciary in a combined state of affairs.
An outbreak of such a disease which has disturbed the life and economy of almost all the powerful five nations in the world and India which is preparing herself since long to make it to the same queue needs to take proactive and concrete steps which just does not exists in papers and interviews.
The situation that we are in today needs to be tackled by the three wheels of the democracy legislature, executive and the judiciary independently, inclusively and exclusively. The inaction by even one of them is costing heavily on the life of the citizens. The heart of the constitution lies under Article 21 which states as “No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law”. Article 21 which is mass encompassed and inclusive of the right to live with dignity and the sole basis of our existence in a democratic country shall play pivotal role in these unimaginable circumstances that are before us to deal with.
Let us look one by one on how each wheel in the democracy is failing for these citizens of India. The legislature be it at the centre or the state or at district levels failed to take proactive measures or design policy good enough for the mass population wanting to make a move to their homes which is a normal human tendency and also cannot be denied as per Article 19 (d) of the constitution of India which states that Citizens have a right to move freely throughout the territory of India. The legislature is Coming up with notifications and guidelines on a regular basis to cover the guilt of these migrant workers losing their lives in huge numbers on a daily basis. The guidelines and norms that are good enough in papers are unable to reach the barefoot individuals who cannot even think of looking for a new update that the Government does in their favour, even if they are able to be aware of it, it is because of the media the most important front line Corona Warriors who are able to reach them before the Powerful Government at central and state level does.
There were and are no orders or policies on which the executive could have worked to safeguard their right to life or even if they were able to provide food and shelter for a few days the Right to live with dignity was blown away by the claimed appropriate timely actions and less effective measures of the Government in all the states. Because this situation is not peculiar to one state or religion that each issue in our country takes turn to and can be debated for a blame game but is the cry of humanity that dies daily on the streets due to the failure of the system as a whole.
After witnessing the failures of the legislature and executive a few knocked the doors of judiciary in dense and deep hope that the Saviour of the Constitution would play its part and prove the best solution for all these migrant workers whose voices are being raised by the media, the fourth wheel of democracy and remaining unheard by them who are able to see and hear through both eyes and ears. The courts PAN India are being flooded by the Public Interest Litigations by advocates and petitioners in person as the last ray of hope so that none of these workers lose their lives or starve in their way back home.
Lately for past two months, none of the High courts or even the Apex court has been able to come up with an order or solution exclusively for an alarming and historical pandemic and are following up with the due process of law it is surprising and shocking that none of the legal frameworks have come forward with an innovative and problem solving solutions and the matters in almost all the High Courts and Supreme court which called for immediate relief and action are now pending for over two months with these migrant laborers compromising and fighting with their Right to life which is existent in our Constitution. The courts shall have considered that it is an extraordinary situation and calls for an extraordinary order so that some may be saved and the major fundamental right to life if not all they could be protected by the most independent pillar of our democracy.
But lately what is being felt in the legal arena is that the courts are bound to follow the process of the legal procedure and has not come with any extraordinary solution so that it may have make the citizens felt that the judiciary is the sole protector of the rights of the people and its citizens and people shall not fear, till the times courts and judiciary exists for enforcing the rights of the people.
There are regular media coverages and articles pertaining to show how the Government and the business who directly take work from these migrant labourers are emphasising the economic effect to these sufferers and also alarming the enlightened citizens of our country as to how the economy is going to function after the lockdown is relaxed but it seems the entire burden of running our economy and making India a developed nations is being borne by these strong willed migrant labourers who without a bread and butter in their meals can afford all of us to sleep and make a move to their homes walking barefoot across the highways that they built.
But our democracy is busy in deciding which religion is more prone to this global pandemic and is less immune. Therefore the only saviour for these labourers in such crucial state of affairs was the Hon’ble Courts where a few were litigating in public interest so that they may be provided transportation, water and food to these smiling and crying with pain faces to just render a ray of hope so that they may reach their home and can afford staying at home as almost the whole India is doing in these times because surveys and researches done by a few NGO’s and Self-help groups also suggests that the shelter homes curated for their stay, proclaimed as the most appropriate measure taken by the various Governments PAN India lack drastically and force them to live in beyond unimaginable circumstances with filthy and dirty toilets and rooms which are capable enough of killing them with infections and dirt but good enough for the authorities accountable to the Judiciary to present in papers that they safeguarded the right to life of these citizens and has funded the need of the people in the pandemic. The migrant labourers and workers do not pray for enforcing Article 14 – The Right to Equality, because it might be a far-fetched dream for them but are still hopeful that Article -21 which our sovereign nation also entitles to not only humans but all the living beings on our land may be a boon for them and only if they survive they will be able to be the wheels in bringing back the economy on track or else!!!!
I am afraid of the fact that the procedure in law might take the lives of lakhs of migrant labourers who are already done away with any iota of hope from our justice delivery system and without any thoughts in their minds to return to their workplace because they might loose the battle of life towards their way home and constitution might fail to these suppressed, oppressed and strong-willed migrant workers who continue with their fights to make their way back home.
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Very good analysis.