‘Victims lived in bondage for long, won’t withstand tricky questions’: Madras High Court reverses acquittal of mill owners

The high court was hearing the appeal filed by a woman survivor against the acquittal of two accused charged under the Bonded Labour Systems (Abolition) Act, 1976 and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

‘Working for minimal pay’

• The high court noted that the victims were paid Rs 30 to Rs 60 for a pair (of labourers) and Rs 4 per bag for processing paddy, which was far below the statutory minimum wages.
• It was observed that under the Minimum Wages Act, even piece-rate wages cannot fall below the minimum time rate fixed by the law.
• The prosecution proved beyond any doubt that the victims are bonded labourers under the accused, and the accused forced them to work for an advance without any salary after the payment of an advance.
• The testimonies of the prosecution witnesses demonstrated that the accused gave bonded debts to the victims and paid them below the minimum wage, and restricted their freedom of movement and employment.
• It was placed on record that the accused gave illegal bonded debts to the victims.

• In the cases related to bonded labour, the burden is shifted onto the shoulders of the accused, and they have to provide evidence to prove their case.
• The accused failed to produce sufficient evidence to rebut the presumption that the victims were working in consideration of an advance.
• It was placed on record that the trial court found some discrepancies between the evidence of the victims.
• The revenue divisional officer, being a sub-divisional magistrate, can exercise his magisterial power to conduct an inquiry under the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976, on the information.
• Accordingly, the revenue divisional officer conducted an enquiry and identified the bonded labourers in the case, and released all the bonded labourers.
• The trial court’s order is set aside, and this criminal appeal stands allowed. The registry is directed to issue a summons to both accused for their appearance before this court for questioning.

Justice G K Ilanthiraiyan found that the victims belonged to the Irular Scheduled Tribe community.

‘Took benefit of historically disenfranchised status’

• The case of the prosecution is that all the accused belong to the Hindu Vannia community, and the victims belong to the Irular community, under the scheduled tribes.
• It was alleged that the survivors were working as bonded labour in the rice mill owned by the accused.
• The accused had allegedly taken advantage of the witnesses’ historically disenfranchised status and had been using them as bonded labourers with illegal advances.
• The accused allegedly displaced them from native villages and forced them against their will to work and provided them with merely nominal wages.
• The prosecution claimed that the accused had been wrongfully forcing the bonded labourers to forfeit their freedom of employment and freedom to move from place to place.
• Hence, the complaint was filed against them. Subsequently, the trial court found the accused not guilty of any of the charges and acquitted them in September 2025.

‘No free movement, ill-treated’

• Appearing for the survivors, advocate David Sunder Singh argued that the accused operate the Sri Ramachandra Rice Mill in Kallapiranpuram village, Tamil Nadu.
• It was claimed that the accused gave an advance to the victims, and in exchange, they worked at the rice mill as bonded labourers.
• They were not allowed to move out or leave the mill freely, even if they were also not allowed to visit their native place.
• Whenever the victims went to their native place, the accused would bring them back using their personal associates.
• They were ill-treated and physically abused by the accused, by calling their caste name.
• It caused huge damage to these labourers, both physically and mentally.
• It was claimed that they were also not paid even the minimum wages as provided under the Minimum Wages Act.