Local instigation led to exodus of labourers, SG tells top court

NEW DELHI : Solicitor general Tushar Mehta said on Thursday migrant labourers are taking to the roads on foot because of anxiety due to “local level instigation” and stressed that “stray incidents” should not impact the hearing in the case in the Supreme Court.

“They are told ‘walk now, trains won’t run. Lockdown extended’,” Mehta said.

He also maintained that some “high courts are running parallel governments”, in an apparent reference to courts in Gujarat, Chennai, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh that passed directions to states and the Centre on the issue.

Mehta said a section of people has failed to acknowledge the government’s efforts. “All these armchair intellectuals and so-called public-spirited people have done nothing to contribute.”

He went on to draw a comparison between such people and South African photojournalist Kevin Carter, who was awarded the Pulitzer for capturing the photo of a vulture standing behind a starving child in faminestruck south Sudan in 1993. The child, it was reported, was attempting to reach a United Nations feeding centre. Carter left the place after driving away the vulture, but did not help the child reach the feeding centre.

“All these people wanting to intervene need to apply the vulture and child story. What have they contributed?” Mehta said.

The apex court passed a sevenpoint order to mitigate the plight of migrants. It also sought detailed reports from the central and state governments.

The top court’s first opportunity to intervene in the matter came two months ago when a public interest litigation, Alakh Alok Srivastava v. Union of India, came up before it. The Centre told the court on March 31 that all workers walking on the roads had been taken to shelters and were being provided food. The court expressed satisfaction at the steps taken by the government. “Courts are many times taking statements made by government at face value without really cross-checking...,” advocate Rebecca John told HT.

Srivastava filed a fresh plea in May seeking directions for free transport to take migrants home. But the top court once again declined to interfere and left it to the states to deal with the problem, maintaining that it cannot pass orders based on media reports.

Another plea for payment of minimum wages to migrant workers during the lockdown was also disposed of by the apex court on April 21 without any concrete directions being passed.

Lawyers and former judges criticised the court for its stance. Twenty-one senior counsels wrote to the Chief Justice on May 25, urging the court to intervene. The court eventually took up the matter suo motu (on its own) on May 26. “It really did not require a petition...this kind of prodding. The Supreme Court could have taken suo motu notice much before this,” John said.

Senior counsel Sanjay Hegde said: “Hindsight can be 20:20 vision. Intervention may be delayed but is welcome.”