The Supreme Court directed uniform implementation of the Bonded Labour Act and rehabilitation scheme across all states and Union Territories.
Complaints of bonded labour should ordinarily be verified within 24 hours, while immediate financial assistance must be provided within seven days of issuing a release certificate.
NGT directed Arunachal Pradesh authorities to remove encroachments, boundary walls and illegal private bridges from the Borum riverbed and other rivers.
The tribunal also ordered action against illegal earth mining and called for stricter environmental clearances and riverbank protection.
The Supreme Court of India issued a series of directions on November 2, 2026, to ensure uniform implementation of the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976, and the Central Sector Scheme for Rehabilitation of Bonded Labourers.
The bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Aparesh Kumar Singh directed the Union government to ensure that the revised standard operating procedure (SOP), dated May 14, 2026, is implemented uniformly across the country.
All states and Union Territories were directed to take the necessary steps to implement the SOP and comply with the court's directions within six months. The Union government must also issue supplementary guidelines, in consultation with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), within three months.
The Supreme Court laid down directions for the identification and release of bonded labourers.
The court said the uniform procedure should provide for prompt verification of complaints concerning bonded labour, ordinarily within 24 hours, followed by speedy rescue wherever necessary.
Once a person is identified as a bonded labourer, the competent authority must conduct the necessary inquiry without delay and ordinarily issue a release certificate within 24 hours of the determination.
The court also directed that release certificates follow a uniform format recognised by all states and Union Territories, so that differences in administrative requirements do not obstruct the rehabilitation of rescued labourers.
On financial assistance and rehabilitation, the Supreme Court directed that immediate financial assistance under the rehabilitation scheme be disbursed within seven days of the issuance of a release certificate.
The court also called for revisions to the rehabilitation scheme and directed the Centre to decide on proposed changes. These include enhancing immediate financial assistance, simplifying rehabilitation procedures, clarifying responsibilities in inter-state cases and providing interim subsistence assistance where rehabilitation benefits are delayed.
The governments of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar were directed to jointly verify the status of financial assistance payable to 17 bonded labourers rescued alongside the first petitioner, Surendra Manjhi, from a brick kiln in Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh, on February 28, 2019.
The verification must be completed within one month, and any outstanding assistance should be disbursed as quickly as possible, the court said.
All states and Union Territories were also directed to ensure that vigilance committees are constituted and functioning at the district and sub-divisional levels in accordance with the Act.
These committees must periodically review the identification, release and rehabilitation of bonded labourers. States and Union Territories must also ensure the availability and effective use of district-level rehabilitation funds to provide timely assistance to eligible beneficiaries.
The Centre was directed to ensure the effective functioning of the NAVJIVAN Portal for recording and monitoring the identification, rescue, release and rehabilitation of bonded labourers.
The Supreme Court also called for the protection and rehabilitation of children in cases involving minors.
The Union government must file a compliance affidavit within four months, detailing the steps taken, including decisions on proposed revisions to the rehabilitation scheme and measures adopted to ensure uniform implementation of the SOP.
All states and Union Territories must comply with the directions within six months and file their respective compliance affidavits within two weeks thereafter.
These affidavits must detail the measures undertaken, the status of implementation and the reasons for any outstanding deficiencies.
The Union government was also directed to submit a consolidated status report on compliance by states and Union Territories.
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on October 29, 2026, directed the Deputy Commissioners of all districts in Arunachal Pradesh to identify and remove encroachments, including boundary walls and private bridges constructed or being constructed on the riverbed of the Borum river and other rivers in the state.
The tribunal directed that eviction proceedings and demolition drives be carried out in accordance with the law, giving alleged encroachers and violators an opportunity to be heard in keeping with the principles of natural justice.
Deputy Commissioners were also directed to ensure that illegal earth-mining activities along the banks of the Borum and other rivers in Arunachal Pradesh are stopped.
They must ensure that land possession certificates (LPCs) are issued only after riverbanks have been properly demarcated in their respective districts.
The tribunal directed the Chief Secretary of Arunachal Pradesh to place the matter of framing rules and regulations before the state government. These would restrict construction on riverbeds and regulate construction along riverbanks across the state.
The Department of Geology and Mining, Arunachal Pradesh, was directed to take action against those involved in illegal earth mining.
The department must also prepare District Survey Reports (DSRs) for all districts and ensure that earth-mining operations are undertaken only after obtaining environmental clearance from the State Level Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA), Arunachal Pradesh, and consent to establish and consent to operate from the Arunachal Pradesh State Pollution Control Board.
SEIAA, Arunachal Pradesh, was also directed to ensure that earth-mining operations are carried out only after obtaining prior environmental clearance.
The tribunal's eastern bench further directed the Water Resources Department, Arunachal Pradesh, to take the necessary steps to protect the Borum river and other rivers in the state.
