New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday said there are no bonded labourers in the country and that a racket is running on the "pretext" of bonded labour. A bench of Justices Hemant Gupta and Sudhanshu Dhulia made the observation while hearing a plea by late social activist Swami Agnivesh on behalf of a woman worker who was allegedly subjected to repeated rape by an associate of brick kiln contractor in RS Pura sub-division of Jammu.
"Do you know who are bonded labourers? They are not bonded. They take the money and come there and are engaged by brick kilns. They come from backward areas. They take the money and eat the money and then resign. This is a racket in the country. These labourers only take advantage of this bonded labourer thing," the bench observed. The lawyer appearing for Jammu and Kashmir told the bench that an FIR was registered in the case and investigation was initiated.