The Court held that the right to health and medical care for workers, both during and after employment, is a fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution, read with Directive Principles of State Policy, to ensure a meaningful life with human dignity.

JUDGMENT

K. RAMASWAMY, J. :—Occupational accidents and diseases remain the most appealing human tragedy of modern industry and one of its most serious forms of economic waste. Occupational health hazard and diseases to the workmen employed in asbestos industries are of our concern in this writ petition field under Article 32 of the Constitution by way of public interest litigation at the behest of the petitioner, an accredited organisation. At the inception of filing the writ petition in the year 1986, though it highlighted the lacuna in diverse provisions of law applicable to the asbestos industry, due to orders of this court passed from time to time, though wide gaps have been bridged by subordinate legislation, yet lot more need to be done, So the petitioner seeks to fill in the yearning gaps and remedial measures for the protection of the health of the workers engaged in mines and asbestos industries with adequate mechanism for and diagnosis and control of the silent killer diseases asbestosis with amended prayers as under:-

(a) Directions to all the industries and the official- respondent to maintain compulsorily and keep preserved health records of each workman for a period of 40 years from the date of beginning of the employment or 10 years after the cessation of the employment whichever is later;

(b) To direct all the factories to adopt THE MEMBRANE FILTER TEST;

(c) To direct all industries to compulsorily insure the employees working in their respective industries, excluding those already covered by the Employees State Insurance Act and the Workmen Compensation Act so as to entitle the workmen to get adequate compensation for occupational hazards or diseases or death;

(d) To direct the authorities to appoint a committee of experts to determine the standard of permissible exposure limit value of 2 fibre/cc and to reduce to i-fibre/cc for Chrystolite type of asbestos, 0-5-fibre/cc for Amosite type of asbestos and for the time being 0-2 fibre/cc for Crocidolite type of asbestos at par with the international standards;

(e) To direct the appropriate Governments to cover the workmen and to extend them Factories Act or by suitable regulatory provisions contained therein to all small scale sectors which are not covered under the Factories Act;

(f) To direct re-examination of such of those persons who are found suffering from Asbestosis by National Institute of Occupational Health but not the ESI hospitals; and in particular the Inspector of factories, Gujarat, be directed to have re-examined all those workmen, examined by ESI by NGDH and to award compensation; and

(g) To direct the Central Government to appoint a committee to recommend whether dry process can be completely replaced by wet process.

2. It would appear from the record that in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan, there exists about thirty mines and the workmen employed therein are about 1061. There are about 74 asbestos industries in nine States, namely, Haryana, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Kerala, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. It would also appear that as on August 1986 there are about 11,000 workmen employed in those industries. Basing on Biswas Committee report, the petitioner filed the writ petition. The Central Govt. accepting the said report,framed model Rule 123A of Factories Act and on its model relevant laws and Rules were amended and are now brought into force. We are not referring to the findings and recommendations of Biswas Committee as the "Asbestos Convention, 1986" covered the whole ground.

3. In Convention 162 of the International Labour Conference (ILC) held in June, 1986, it had adopted on 24th June,1986 the Convention called "the Asbestos Convention, 1986". India is one of the signatories to the Convention and it played a commendable role suggesting suitable amendments in the preparatory conferences. It has come into force from June 16, 1989, after its ratification by the Member-States. Article 2(a) defines "asbestos" t