CONSUMER EDUCATION & RESEARCH CENTRE&ORS vs UNION OF INDIA . Supreme Court, 27-01-1995
| Judge | RAMASWAMY,K. |
| Parties | CONSUMER EDUCATION & RESEARCH CENTRE&ORSUNION OF INDIA . |
| Docket Number | W.P.(C) No.-000206-000206 / 1986 |
| Date | 27 January 1995 |
| Court | Supreme Court (India) |
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PETITIONER:
CONSUMER EDUCATION & RESEARCH CENTRE AND OTHERS
Vs.
RESPONDENT:
UNION OF INDIA & OTHERS
DATE OF JUDGMENT27/01/1995
BENCH:
RAMASWAMY, K.
BENCH:
RAMASWAMY, K.
AHMADI A.M. (CJ)
PUNCHHI, M.M.
CITATION:
1995 AIR 922 1995 SCC (3) 42
JT 1995 (1) 636 1995 SCALE (1)354
ACT:
HEADNOTE:
JUDGMENT:
1. Occupational accidents and diseases remain the most
appalling human tragedy of modem industry and one of its
most serious forms of economic waste. Occupational health
hazards and diseases to the workmen employed in asbestos
industries are of our concern in this writ
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petition filed under Article 32 of the Constitution by way
of public interest litigation at the behest of the
petitioner, an accredited Organisation. At the inception of
filing the writ petition in the year 1986, though it
highlighted the lacuna in diverse provisions of law
applicable to the asbestos industry, due to orders of-this
Court passed from time to time, though wide gaps have been
bridged by subordinate legislation, yet lot more need to be
done. So the petitioner seeks to fill in the yearning gaps
and remedial measures for the protection of the health of
the workers engaged in mines and asbestos industries with
adequate mechanism for and diagnosis and control of the
silent killer disease " asbestosis", with amended prayers as
under-
(a) Directions to all the industries and the
official-respondents to maintain compulsorily
and keep preserved health records of each
workman for a period of 40 years from the date
of beginning of the employment or 10 years
after the cessation of the employment,
whichever is later;
(b) To direct all the factories to adopt
"THE MEMBRANE FILTER TEST";
(c) To direct all industries to compulsorily
insure the employees working in their
respective industries, excluding those already
covered by the Employees State Insurance Act
and the Workmen Compensation Act so as to
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entitle the workmen to get adequate
compensation for occupational hazards or
diseases or death;
(d) To direct the authorities to appoint a
committee of experts to determine the standard
of permissible exposure limit value of 2
fibre/cc and to reduce to 1-fibre/cc for
Chrystolite type of asbestos, 0.5-fibre/cc for
Amosite type of asbestos and for the time
being 0.2-fibre/cc for Crocidolite type of
asbestos at par with the international
standards;
(e) To direct the appropriate Govenunents to
cover the workmen and to extend them Factories
Act or by suitable regulatory provisions
contained therein to all small scale sectors
which arc not covered under the Factories Act;
(f) To direct re-examination of such of
those persons who are found suffering from
Asbestosis by National Institute of
Occupational Health but not the E.S.I.
hospitals; and in particular the Inspector of
factories, Gujarat, be directed to have re-
examined all those workmen, examined by ESI by
N.G.D.H. and to award compensation; and
(g) To direct the Central Goverment to
appoint a committee to recommend whether dry
process can be completely replaced by wet
process.
2. It would appear from the record that in Karnataka,
Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan, there exists about thirty
mines and the workmen employed therein are about 106 1.
There are about 74 asbestos industries in nine States,
namely, Haryana, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka,
Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Kerala, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.
It would also appear that as on August 1986 there are about
11,000 workmen employed in those industries. Basing on
Biswas Committee report, the petitioner filed the writ
petition. The Central Govt. accepting the said report,
framed modal Rule 123A of Factories Act and on its model
relevant laws and Rules were amended and are now brought
into force. We are not referring to the findings and
recommendations of Biswas Committee as the "Asbestos Con-
vention, 1986" covered the whole ground.
3. In Convention 162 of the Interna-
641
tional Labour Conference (ILC) held in June, 1986, it had
adopted on 24th June, 1986 the Convention called "the Asbes-
tos Convention, 1986". India is one of the signatories to
the Convention and it played a commendable role suggesting
suitable amendments in the preparatory conferences. It has
come into force from June 16, 1989, after its ratification
by the Member-States. Article 2(a) defines "asbestos" to
mean the fibrous form of mineral silicates belonging to
rock-forming minerals of the serpentine group, i.e.
chrysotile (white asbestos), and of the amphibole group,
i.e. actinolite, amosite (brown asbestos, cummingtonite-
grunerite),anthophyllite, crocidolite (blue asbestos), tremolite,
or any mixture containing one or more of these." "Asbestos
dust" is defined as "airborne particles of asbestos or
settled particles of asbestos" which may become airborne in
the working environment "Respirable asbestos fibre" is
defined as a particle of asbestos with a diameter of less
than sum and of which the length is at least three times the
diameter; "Workers" coverall employed persons; "Workplace"
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