Bandhua Mukti Morcha vs. Union of India, 1984 (3 SCC 161)

The case originated from a letter addressed by petitioner to the court on behalf of bonded workers working in stone quarries in Delhi. The workers were not provided with any form of shelter, clean drinking water, latrines or medical facilities in the mines. They were prone to tuberculosis and other respiratory infection due to the pollution from the stone crushers. Middlemen also extracted large portions of their salary as commission. The court treated the letter as a public interest litigation. It said that it is a fundamental right of everyone in the country to live with human dignity, free from exploitation. The right to live with human dignity enshrined in the Constitution must, at the very least, include protection of the health and strength of workers, men and women, and of the tender age of children against abuse, opportunities and facilities for children to develop in a healthy manner and in conditions of freedom and dignity, educational facilities, just and humane conditions of work and maternity relief. These are the minimum requirements which must exist in order to enable a person to live with human dignity. Moreover, pure drinking water is absolutely essential to the health and welfare of the workmen and some authority has to be responsible for providing it.