Manual Sewer Cleaning at Supreme Court Gate Reflects Law-Breaking Culture
Photos Show Banned Practice Continuing Under Municipal Watch in Delhi
August 11, 2025
The Supreme Court of India has discovered that manual sewer cleaning, a banned and hazardous practice, is being carried out at its own Gate F. This points to a deeper and troubling reality, that in many areas of public life in India, even those bound by law display no hesitation in flouting it, because the culture of impunity has taken root.
On Aug. 6, the Court was presented with photographs showing workers outside its Gate F engaged in manual sewer cleaning without any protective gear. The images, part of applications submitted by Senior Advocate and amicus curiae K. Parameshwar, showed men handling waste directly, in clear violation of existing legal prohibitions, as reported by LiveLaw.
The Court’s attention to this scene was linked to an ongoing case concerning the eradication of manual scavenging and manual sewer cleaning. In 2023, in Dr. Balram Singh v Union of India, the Supreme Court had issued a set of directions aimed at ending these practices altogether. Since then, a bench led by Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Aravind Kumar has been monitoring compliance in major metropolitan cities, with repeated remarks that officials were approaching the matter with inadequate seriousness.
After the Gate F incident came to light, the Court directed the Public Works Department to explain why manual cleaning was still taking place at the site. It also made the East Delhi Municipal Corporation a party to the proceedings and instructed its Chief Executive Officer to file an affidavit on the continued use of manual labour for hazardous cleaning.
The justices warned that failure to provide a satisfactory reply could lead to the registration of criminal cases against those responsible.
As we know, manual scavenging is the practice of physically cleaning, carrying, disposing of or handling human excreta from dry toilets, open drains, railway tracks, septic tanks or sewers using basic tools such as buckets, brooms or baskets. It is typically done without protective gear, exposing workers to severe health risks and indignity. The practice is banned under the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and Their Rehabilitation Act, 2013, which also mandates rehabilitation measures for those engaged in it. However, it continues despite the legal prohibition.
Social psychology research, such as studies on “normalisation of deviance” by Diane Vaughan, explains how repeated violations of rules can become part of everyday practice when enforcement is weak or inconsistent. Over time, breaking the law is seen as routine, rather than exceptional, especially in industries and local administrations where corruption or weak oversight exists.
German sociologist and political economist Max Weber described the concept of “patrimonialism,” in which public office is treated as personal property and official duties are carried out to serve private convenience rather than public obligation. In such systems, municipal bodies and contractors who disregard the ban on manual scavenging may view compliance as optional because the surrounding culture treats rules as negotiable.
This culture is sustained by a combination of low perceived risk of punishment and the economic incentives for cutting costs. Social exchange theory in psychology suggests that people and institutions weigh the potential benefits of breaking rules against the possible costs. If enforcement is rare or penalties are light, the rational choice within this framework is to continue the illegal practice, even if it endangers human life.
There is also the phenomenon of “diffusion of responsibility” in organisational psychology, where individuals feel less personal accountability when responsibility is spread across many actors. In the context of municipal corporations and independent contractors, the blame for illegal acts can be shifted between departments, contractors and labour intermediaries, making it difficult to pin down and punish offenders.
Such entrenched attitudes weaken the legitimacy of governance because they show that even the highest legal authority can be defied without facing consequences. When citizens witness court orders being ignored, their confidence in the fairness and authority of public institutions diminishes. Political scientist Francis Fukuyama explains that the strength of a state depends not only on formal laws and procedures but also on shared informal norms that encourage voluntary compliance. In the absence of these norms, legal systems cannot function as intended, and breaking the law becomes an accepted and recurring part of how society operates.
The persistence of manual scavenging in India despite legal prohibition shows a deeper social and institutional culture where breaking the law has become embedded in the daily operations of certain businesses and local administrations. Altering this requires both consistent legal enforcement and a shift in the cultural acceptance of such practices.
This means holding municipal officers and contractors criminally accountable for violations across the country, ensuring mechanised cleaning equipment is available and used, and providing rehabilitation and alternative livelihoods for workers so they are not forced back into the banned practice.
Citizens should consider joining public campaigns that expose violations and build pressure for compliance to help change community attitudes.
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