Supreme Court Seeks Response Of Centre, States On Plea To Curb Heatwave Deaths, Protect Workers In Unorganised Sectors

The Supreme Court today (July 23) sought a response from the Union and State Governments in a plea seeking comprehensive measures to protect workers in unorganised sectors from heat wave effects and prevent deaths due to the rising temperature. 

The bench of CJI BR Gavai and Justices K Vinod Chandran and Joymalya Bagchi agreed to consider the matter and issued notice on the petition. 

The plea seeks directions to the Union and State governments:

(1) to frame and implement binding National Heat Protection Regulations, mandating employers to provide heat-related protections like adjusted work hours, hydration, rest shelters, and medical kits during heatwaves;

(2) formation of a High-Level Monitoring Committee under the Court's supervision for inter-agency and inter-State coordination, monitoring of violations, and tracking heatwave-related deaths; 

(3) the operationalisation of a compensation mechanism for heat-related deaths and injuries;

(4) integration of State Heat Action Plans under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, for enforceability, and implementation of heat protection protocols under MGNREGA, including revised work hours, protective facilities, and wage guarantees during suspended work due to extreme heat.

The petition filed under Article 32 by advocate Adil Sharfuddin stressed that Delhi has witnessed the highest temperatures since 2021. 

It stated that in 2021, 374 deaths occurred due to heatwaves, in 2022- 730 deaths; in 2023 - 264 deaths, and 2024 saw the highest deaths- 733. 

The plea emphasised that outdoor labourers and workers are affected the most by heat waves due to the nature of their professions and the fact that there is no labour-oriented consideration in unorganised sectors where they work. 

It cited International Labour Organisation, according to which "these heat events are Occupational Safety and Health Hazard and workers in agriculture, environmental goods and services (natural resources management), construction, refuse collection, emergency repair work, transport, tourism and sports workers are at high risk due to these heatwaves. Apart from the workers listed above, manual labourers, hawkers, garbage collectors, mine workers, brick kiln workers and gig workers are also at high risk."

The plea also states that according to the website of the Ministry of Labour and Employment, 93% of the country's workforce comes from the unorganised sectors. It added that " the Government has been implementing some social security measures for certain occupational groups but the coverage is miniscule. The majority of the workers are still without any social security coverage."

The petition is filed with the assistance of AOR Shashank Singh. 

Case Details : ADIL SHARFUDDIN vs. UNION OF INDIA| W.P.(C) No. 000653 / 2025