Impossible To Monitor And Stop Movement Of Migrant Workers On Roads, Says SC

The Centre conveyed to the top court that migrant workers are being provided transportation facilities and migrants need to wait for their turn instead of starting to walk on foot.

(Photo by Arun SANKAR / AFP)

New Delhi: In wake of the Aurangabad incident in which 16 workers were mowed down by a goods train, the Supreme Court bench on Friday said migrant movements cannot be monitored across the country by courts and it is the lookout of the government which is already arranging facilities for their return. A bench headed by Justice L Nageswara Rao didn’t entertain a plea seeking a direction to the Centre to ask district magistrates to identify stranded migrant workers and provide shelter, food to them before ensuring their free transportation to native places. The court said it is impossible for courts to monitor or stop the movement of migrant workers across the country. However, the Centre conveyed to the top court that migrant workers are being provided transportation facilities by the government to their destinations across the country. The migrants need to wait for their turn instead of plunging into walking on foot. Watch: The bench also included Justices S K Kaul and B R Gavai, asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta if there a way to stop these migrants workers from coming on the roads. Mehta responded that authorities can only request these people not to start walking on foot as using any force to stop them would be counter-productive. Mehta told the bench, which was hearing the matter through video-conferencing, that subject to the agreement between state governments everybody would get a chance to travel to their destinations. Advocate Alakh Alok Srivastava, who had filed the plea, referred to recent incidents of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh where migrant workers were killed in accidents on highways. (With inputs from PTI)