Expressing strong dissatisfaction over the prolonged delay in appointing the chairperson and members of the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis (NCSK), the Supreme Court has warned that continued inaction could prompt judicial intervention, including setting up an ad hoc committee to discharge the functions of NCSK.
While hearing the matter on 27 January 2026, a bench comprising justice Aravind Kumar and justice PB Varale, says there had been little visible progress despite repeated directions and assurances from the Union government. The court granted a final window of four weeks for completing the appointments, failing which it said it would consider setting up an ad hoc committee to discharge the functions of the commission.
The bench noted that earlier hearings had been adjourned based on assurances given by the solicitor general (SG) and additional solicitor general (ASG) that the vacancies would be filled. However, the latest compliance affidavit did not inspire confidence, with the judges observing that the process appeared to be moving at an unacceptably slow pace.
The court had earlier, on 20 January 2026, allowed the Union government to place on record a timeline for making the appointments. When the matter was taken up a week later, the bench remarked that the affidavit filed by the Union government did not reflect any urgency or seriousness in filling the long-pending vacancies in the statutory body.
The National Commission for Safai Karamcharis was set up under the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis Act, 1993, to protect the rights and dignity of sanitation workers and to monitor measures aimed at eliminating manual scavenging. The Commission is tasked with reviewing the implementation of welfare schemes, assessing rehabilitation efforts, and advising the government on policies affecting safai karamcharis.
Despite its central role, the Commission has been functioning with significant vacancies for years. Earlier proceedings in the case revealed that several posts, including those of vice-chairperson and members, had remained unfilled, undermining the commission’s ability to function effectively.
The issue of appointments has arisen in the backdrop of a series of directions issued by the Supreme Court to eradicate manual scavenging and unsafe sewer cleaning. In October 2023, the court delivered a landmark judgment enhancing compensation for deaths caused during manual scavenging or sewer-related work to Rs30 lakh.
Since then, the court has continued to monitor compliance, issuing further directions to track the elimination of the practice, particularly in major metropolitan areas. In January 2025, the bench passed orders to oversee implementation in top cities and even took note of instances of manual scavenging reported near the Supreme Court premises itself, directing authorities to pay compensation in such cases.
The present proceedings stem from a petition highlighting vacancies in the Commission and the absence of a functional oversight mechanism. The petitioner had pointed out that manual scavenging has been outlawed under the 2013 law, making it essential for the commission to operate at full strength to ensure rehabilitation and enforcement.
The plea also drew attention to the commission’s earlier role in implementing the Supreme Court’s 2014 judgment, which had directed compensation for families of workers who died while cleaning sewers and septic tanks since 1993.
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