New Delhi, Jan. 29 -- The Supreme Court has clarified that its order raising compensation for deaths due to manual scavenging and sewer cleaning to Rs 30 lakh will apply to older cases too, if compensation has not yet been fixed or paid.
In its Balram judgment of October 2023, the Court had increased the compensation amount from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 30 lakh for such deaths.
The clarification came after the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) moved an application before the Apex Court.
NALSA said that different High Courts were taking different views on how much compensation should be paid. For example, the Madras High Court awarded Rs 10 lakh in one case, while the Delhi High Court granted Rs 30 lakh in another.
NALSA pointed out that...