The right to live with dignity under Article 21 includes the right to a decent burial or cremation, obligating the State to prevent the use of dead bodies for protests.

JUDGMENT :

Deepak Roshan, J.

Petitioner has filed the instant writ petition praying therein for the following reliefs:-

(i) For issuance of an appropriate writ/order/direction, including Writ of Mandamus, directing the Respondent-State authorities, particularly Deputy Commissioner, Dhanbad and Senior Superintendent of Police, Dhanbad (Respondent Nos. 2 and 3 respectively) to maintain adequate law and order situation at the Main Gate/premises of the Petitioner-Maithon Power Limited, including ensuring prohibition from staging of protests, laying of dead bodies of workmen, etc. in front of the Factory Gate of the Petitioner.

(ii) For issuance of further appropriate writ/order/direction, including Writ of Declaration declaring that the activity of generation of electricity undertaken by the Petitioner-Maithon Power Limited falls within the category of ‘Essential Services’ and, thus, it is the responsibility of the Respondent-State of Jharkhand, including its officials to ensure that no hindrance is created in carrying out the aforesaid ‘Essential Services’ of generation of electricity, more particularly, preventing from laying of dead-bodies of workmen and consequently staging of protests/dharnas in front of the Factory Gate of the Petitioner-company.

2. Brief facts of the case as per the pleadings are that Petitioner is a Joint Venture entity of Tata Power Company Ltd. and Damodar Valley Corporation Ltd. having shares of 74:26 per cent respectively and has already set-up a Power Station/Power Plant at Maithon in the District of Dhanbadhaving capacity of 1050 M.W. which started commercial production in the year 2011.

3. For the purpose of setting up the Power Plant, approximately 564 acres of land was acquired in favour of Damodar Valley Corporation Ltd. under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 and Petitioner formulated a Rehabilitation and Resettlement Scheme, wherein it agreed to provide regular employment opportunity to all land losers or home losers or their dependents through Contract Labour entity working under the Petitioner.

It was further provided, inter alia, that in lieu of such employment, one time compensation was to be paid to Project affected persons, and, it is the case of the Petitioner that at present about 250 employees are working in direct role of the Petitioner and about 2500 employees including around 800 Project affected persons are working through the Contract Labour entity employed by Petitioner in terms of the Contract Labour (Prohibition and Abolition) Act, 1870.

4. The further case of the Petitioner is that since establishment of its Generating Plant, it is facing continuous hindrances in running its Plant especially under the circumstances, when one or the other employees working under the Petitioner or its Contractor die during subsistence of employment period.

The further case of the Petitioner is that there are approximately 2500 employees working in Petitioner’s Plant and due to natural phenomena of illness, employees succumb to death during subsistence of their employment and such deaths are natural deaths and not due to accident death caused during the course of employment. However, despite the fact that death of one or the other employees occurs due to natural phenomena as a natural death, Petitioner is continuously facing immense problem when such death occurs, in asmuchas, dead-body of the deceased employee is brought and kept at Main Gate/ Factory Gate of the Petitioner thereby hindering the entire activities of ingress and outgress of the Petitioner’s Power Plant which has massive restriction upon the people working in Power Plant of Petitioner including movement of raw materials, and, essential activity pertaining to generation of electricity comes to a complete stand-still during such protests.

5. Petitioner, by way of example, has stated instances pertaining to death of one Bijay Kisku, a 39-years old Project Affected Person (PAP), who died on 29th August, 2023 after suffering from illness, as a nat