Download pdf - akku leela

7/21/2019 akku leela

1/24

News Bulletin

Human Rights Protection Foundation, Udupi

Bulletin No. 5

Web address: http://hrpfudupi.hpage.co.in

Dear Readers,

I believe not many of you would know the classic case of

how the high-handedness of a few officials has affected

the lives of two illiterate women in Udupi.

The two women, Akku and Leela, have put in about four decades of service as scavengers at the

Government Women Teachers Training Institute on a monthly salary of Rs. 15/-.

When they joined the institute in 1971, they were told they would be paid a basic salary of Rs.15/-a month until the government officially approved their appointments and then they would receive

their full pay backdated to the day they joined.

Even after a year, they had still not had their jobs officially approved. They wanted to quit.

The principal pleaded with them to stay and promised they would receive more than Rs. 30,000 as

back wages and they would be appointed on a permanent basis. He warned them that they would

lose this if they resigned. The women continued cleaning the lavatories.

Their plight came to light after Dr. Ravindranath Shanbhag, President of Udupi-based Hu-

man Rights Protection Foundation (HRPF), took up the matter and created public opinion against

this injustice.

In 1999 with the help of HRPF, the women approached the Karnataka Administrative Tri-bunal (KAT) seeking relief. As a result, the Education Department stopped paying them even that

meager salary of Rs. 15/-.

Now, after 14 years of legal battle, the women have three judgments including Karnataka

High Court and the Supreme Court in their favor. Every court has asked the government to pay

them their due right from 1971 till their retirement.

Since the government has not paid their salary, the ladies have approached the Supreme

Court with Contempt of Court Petition.

Before you watch the story live on Spandana Channel at 8:00 pm on Thursday 8th Au-

gust 2013, read the attached articles published so far.

Regards,

Nivedita, Editor, HRPF NEws Bulletin

Human Rights Protection Foundation, Udupi.

First Floor,

Vaikunta Baliga College of Law,

Kunjibettu Udupi- 576 102

H R P F Bulletin5The Epic tale of Akku and Leela
http://hrpfudupien.hpage.co.in/http://hrpfudupien.hpage.co.in/http://hrpfudupien.hpage.co.in/


2/24

News Bulletin


Bulletin No. 5


The judicial system and bureaucracyChief Justice of the Supreme Court of India K G Balakrishnan made a veryvalid point recently when he said that even as the courts of India hearing the largest

number of cases in the world zealously guard the rights and liberties of the people,the arrears in cases were still on the rise. He did not mention figures but we have it

from the Global Corruption Report 2007 on Corruption in Judicial Systems that asof February 2006 there were 33,635 cases pending in the Supreme Court with 26

judges, 3.34 lakh cases in the High Courts with 670 judges and 2.5 lakh cases in

13,304 subordinate courts.

According to the report, the ratio of judges in India is 12 to 13 per million peo-ple compared to 107 in the United States, 75 in Canada and 51 in the United King-

dom. At the current rate of disposal of cases, it would take 350 years to dispose ofpending cases. So what is the answer? It would seem that some high courts have in-

troduced 'evening courts', 'mobile courts' and 'e-courts' to make justice accessible tothe remotest areas. As Justice Balakrishnan put it, 'it is imperative to introduce inno-

vative and creative solutions to tackle' the current situation. What are these 'creative'solutions? If, for example, people belonging to the same caste have a Caste Court,

can the caste chieftains or leaders serve to settle disputes among the litigants? Wouldthe legal system accept the rulings of Caste Courts as just and equitable? If reports

are to be believed, such courts have sprung up in recent times and are rendering sig-nal service to the people. There is, e g Human Rights Protection Foundation of

Udupi and the Consumer Forum of Basroor which have in the last 27 years tackled23,000 cases without charging a rupee, nor accepting any grant from either the Kar-

nataka or Union government. These two bodies are examples of reducing the burdenon the judiciary. That apart, what is shocking is that many of the cases are trivial anddo not need legal expertise for their quick resolution. All that is required is ordinary

common sense and a sense of fair play.A recent case involving a woman 'scavenger' working for a Government Train-

ing School for Women in Karnataka makes it abundantly clear. This is the story. On21 November 1929 the headmistress of the Training School appointed a sweeper

cum scavenger named Sesi on a monthly salary of six rupees. Sesi belonged to thelowest of low castes. Some time in 1971 Sesi died and her daughter Akku ap-

proached the headmistress of the school for her mother's job. This was sanctioned on12 July 1971. The wages were raised to fifteen rupees.

09 OCTOBER 2007Source:- News Today By M V KAMATH


3/24

News Bulletin


Bulletin No. 5


The approval appointment came six months after Akku joined duty but that doesn'tmatter. A letter of the headmistress addressed to the Commissioner of Public Instruc-

tion, Bangalore, dated 19 September 1998 said that Akku and a fellow scavenger,

Leela - also appointed in June 1971 - were full-time employees and full-time workwas extracted from them. Leela's work consisted of cleaning 7 urinals and 5 latrines

seven days a week and Akku's work consisted of sweeping 21 classroom, also everyday of the year. Both the employees reportedly were supposed to fill in 'temporary

posts' with their wages paid from 'contingency funds'. In a letter to the Secretary of

the Department of Education, Karnataka, dated 4 November 1992 Akku mentioned

that she had been working for the past 20 years in a 'temporary post' and appealedthat the post be made permanent. Unbelievable but true, Departmental inquiries took

five long years to come to any conclusion! Eventually, on 9 July 1997, the Secretarywrote to say that the posts held by both Akku and Leela 'cannot be made permanent'

- this after they had been working continuously for two decades! Time passed. Thena strange thing happened. While both Akku and Leela continued to work their wages

were stopped as from 1 January 1998. Neither of the woman knew how to handle the

situation until the matter was raised by a human rights organisation with the Com-

missioner of Public Instruction (CPI) on 23 July 2003 when the headmistress of theschool requested the CPI to release wages due to the women amounting to Rs 1.16

lakh. The women thereupon appealed to the Karnataka Administrative Tribunal(KAT) against the CPI which looked into the case and ordered regularisation of ser-

vices of the two scavenger-sweepers as a 'social ameliorative measure', specifying

that the order be obeyed within 90 days. CPI dithered. Akku thereupon made a rep-resentation to the Education Department on 27 November 2003 to get the KAT order

implemented. Once again the government dithered and appealed to the KarnatakaHigh Court to dismiss the KAT order. On 4 October 2004 the High Court dismissed

the CPI appeal. Thereafter, shocking as it sounds, notice was issued to government

officers for not implementing the KAT order. At this point the government advocate,

M B Prabhakar wrote to the head of the Legal Cell, Department of Education, Ban-galore, informing the latter that this was a 'fit case' to take to the Supreme Court. On

10 November 2004, the Karnataka government authorised a Supreme Court advo-cate, Sanjay R Hegde to file a Special Leave Petition against the Karnataka High

Court's final Order at the Supreme Court.Incidentally, it is now 2007 and the two women are still working without being

paid! Something of a record. There are no legal intricacies here. Both the women

have been and are full-time workers. And they have been working now for over

three decades, cleaning latrines and sweeping classroom floors. And they have notbeen paid since 1998 or for nine long years. What sort of justice is this? If such in-

justice can be done to two poor illiterate women, what justice can one expect in


4/24

News Bulletin


Bulletin No. 5


more complicated cases pending in the courts - some 2.5 crore in all? Does anyonecare? In the case of these two women, a local human rights organisation took up

cudgels on their behalf but how many of the 2.5 crore cases can expect such help?

Does it require a Supreme Court intervention to do justice to two unhappy illiteratewomen who have not been paid a single paise for nearly a decade? How are they ex-

pected to live? There are no answers. Does Justice Balakrishnan have any? The truthis that our government departments are insensitive to human suffering. When a gov-

ernment is pulled up, his (or her) instinctive reaction is to appeal to a higher court.

There is no end to litigation. This is where the problem lies. The number of courts

may be increased at all level; the courts may sit for longer hours, even curtail theirholidays. But in the end the solution lies in changing the mind-set of people and

that's a job not for the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court but for social reformersand the media.


5/24

News Bulletin


Bulletin No. 5


The Hindu, Saturday 20, 2012


6/24

News Bulletin


Bulletin No. 5


2 Udupi women work for ` 15 a month for last 42 years!

10:47 AM, Wednesday, September 12th, 2012


7/24

News Bulletin


Bulletin No. 5


Here is a classic case that will reveal how the high-

handedness of a few officials has affected the lives of

two Dalit women in Udupi.The two women, Akku and Leela, have put in about four

decades of service at the Government Women Teachers

Training Institute on a monthly salary of Rs. 15. Al-

though they were promised that their services would beregularised, they did not get any benefits even after 42

years of service.

After the women approached the Karnataka Administra-

tive Tribunal (KAT) seeking relief in 2001, the Educa-tion Department stopped paying them even that meagre salary of Rs. 15.

Their plight came to light after Ravindranath Shanbhag, president of Udupi-based Human RightsProtection Foundation, took up the matter and followed up the case right up to the Supreme Court.

Addressing presspersons here on Tuesday, Mr. Shanbhag said that although the Supreme Court,

the High Court of Karnataka and the Karnataka Administrative Tribunal ruled in favour of the

women and directed the government to regularise their services, the order is yet to be implementedby the government.

Meanwhile, the women continue to clean the 21 toilets in the institute all through the year without

any payment, he said.The Karnataka Administrative Tribunal asked the government in 2003 to regularise them in 90

days and the Karnataka High Court ordered the government to pay their salaries in 2004. Noticeswere also issued for contempt of court when the directions were not implemented. Instead of pay-ing them salaries, the government filed a special leave petition before the Supreme Court in 2005.

The Supreme Court ruled in the womens favour in 2010. Despite all this, the women are still

waiting to get their benefits, Mr. Shanbhag said. Now, the authorities say that the women werenot employable because they had reached the retirement age. I am surprised that the government

spent lakhs of rupees on fighting the cases against the hapless women rather than pay what is due

to them.

Is there any other court above the Supreme Court that can give justice to these women? Mr.Shanbhag asked and urged the government to pay what is due to the women.

In response to several readers' offers of help for Akku and Leela,

Dr.Ravindranath Shanbhag, the human rights activist who has been campaign-

ing for their cause, says these women do not want any charity. All they want is

for the government to pay them their due.

( The Hindu BANGALORE, October 4, 2012 )

Two women working for Rs. 15 a month for 42years


8/24

News Bulletin


Bulletin No. 5



9/24

News Bulletin


Bulletin No. 5



10/24

News Bulletin


Bulletin No. 5


Earning a salary of Rs. 15 a month for their work as sweepers for over four decades, Akku and

Leela have never had it easy. But one thing they are never short on is self-respect.

The two women, cleaned toilets at the Government Women Teachers Training Institute, Udupi

for a monthly salary of Rs. 15 from 1971 to 2001. They still clean the 21 toilets in the institute

three times a day, but without pay as they had approached the court seeking justice regarding their

salary.

Following publication of their storyin The Hindu, several readers from across the globe havecome forward to help them financially. But these women insist that they do not want charity. All

that we want is what is due to us. What our hard work all through the past 42 years deserves, Ms.Akku toldThe Hindu.

Ms. Akku was employed as a sweeper at the institute in 1971 after her mother died. Ms. Leela,

too, joined as a sweeper the same year in her grandmothers place.

Both their appointments were approved by the Deputy Director of Public Instruction of Dakshina

AKKUAND LEELA CLEAN21 TOILETSINANINSTITUTETHREETIMESA DAY, BUT

WITHOUTPAY
http://hrpfudupien.hpage.co.in/http://hrpfudupien.hpage.co.in/http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/karnataka/two-women-working-for-rs-15-a-month-for-42-years/article3962218.ecehttp://www.thehindu.com/news/states/karnataka/two-women-working-for-rs-15-a-month-for-42-years/article3962218.ecehttp://www.thehindu.com/news/states/karnataka/two-women-working-for-rs-15-a-month-for-42-years/article3962218.ecehttp://hrpfudupien.hpage.co.in/


11/24

News Bulletin


Bulletin No. 5


Kannada district in 1972 and their basic salary was fixed at Rs. 15 a month. We were promised

that our services would be regularised and salaries increased as per the government rules [theMinimum Wages Act]. But the same salary continued for years. And that was also stopped after

we approached the Karnataka Administrative Tribunal (KAT) for justice in 2001. From then till

now we have been working with the hope of getting the benefits that are due to us from the gov-ernment, Ms. Akku said.

Udupi-based Human Rights Protection Foundation (HRPF) president Ravindranath Shanbhag,

who has been fighting for their cause, said although the Supreme Court, the Karnataka High Court

and the Karnataka Administrative Tribunal (KAT) ruled in favour of the two women and directed

the government to regularise their services, the order is yet to be implemented. It is unfortunatethat the government spent lakhs of rupees on fighting the cases against the hapless women rather

than pay what is due to them, he said. Mr. Shanbhag said the women had high self esteem and

had refused help in the past too.

When some teachers from the institute gave them some money a few years ago, they refused toaccept it until they were allowed to return the favour by cleaning the toilets in the homes of theteachers. While supporting their battle, HRPF has seen to it that their self-respect is not hurt, he

said.

Pointing out that both Ms. Akku and Ms. Leela have been fighting for justice since four decades,

Mr. Shanbhag said: The HRPF joined their fight only in 1998. When their Rs. 15 salary was

stopped and services terminated in 2001, we offered them financial and legal support. They flatlyrefused the financial support but accepted the legal assistance with a condition that they would re-

turn the money spent by the Foundation once they get justice from the courts. We agreed, respect-

ing their spirit and self-respect.

Reacting to the issue, Primary and Secondary Education Minister Vishveshwar Hegde Kageri said

he had directed his officials to submit a report on the case within two weeks. It is an old case. I

will study the report and will ensure that the women get justice, he said.


12/24

News Bulletin


Bulletin No. 5


Dr. Ravindranath Shanbhag, president of the Human Rights Protection Foundation of Udupi, intro-

duced to the press Elizabeth and Padma, who have been underpaid for several years.

Elizabeth, who worked in Government Teachers Training School in Balmatta, Mangalore, for 43

years, and Padma, who worked in Fisheries Junior College for 42 years, were both paid a monthly

salary of only Rs. 15. The two women approached higher education authorities and requested them

to pay their full wages with interest from the day they received their appointment order. However,

the government officials have not responded so far.

Mr. Shanbhag said that the ladies are still working in the institutions, but are receiving no salary

because they are being considered retired. The government has not made any fresh appointment

either.Citing the example of Akku and Leela, two other women who worked as scavengers in an educa-

tional institution for only Rs. 15 per month, he said that Akku and Leela had approached the then

CM B. S. Yeddyurappa after winning their case in Supreme Court. The chief minister had told

them that it is not possible to pay them, adding that, if the government paid them, it would have to

pay the other workers too.

Mr. Shanbhag said that there are around 300 underpaid workers like Akku, Leela, Elizabeth, and

Padma in Karnataka.

Two underpaid women demand full wages

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangalore, Oct 16, 2012:


13/24

News Bulletin


Bulletin No. 5


Working as sweepers to earn just Rs 15 a month for 40

years

MANGALORE: Elizabeth (68) and Padma Amin (55) worked for over 40 years as sweepers for ameager salary of Rs 15 per month.

Udupi Human Rights Protection Foundation found that Elizabeth worked at the GovernmentTeachers Training School at Balmatta in Mangalore for 43 years from 1964 and Padma Amin

joined the Fisheries Junior College in 1970 and worked for 42 years. Both were offered only Rs 15

per month as salary.

The foundation had brought to light similar cases of Akku (60), a dalit woman, and Leela Sherigar

(59), who had been working for 42 years in Government Women Teachers' Training Institute at

Udupi for a meagre salary of Rs 15 a month.

Foundation president Ravindranath Shanbhag told TOI that since similar cases of Akku and Leelawere taken up in the past by the Foundation and they won the legal battle in the Supreme Court,

both Elizabeth and Padma have already approached the higher ups in the Education department

seeking full wages along with interest right from the day of appointment, which may be over Rs 25

lakh.

"We are pursuing the matter, but we have not received any response from the government officialsabout payment to the ladies. The Foundation has documents to claim that Elizabeth had worked atthe government school till 1997. After that they have been asked to maintain separate attendance

sheets which we are yet to find out. For some time at the management of the school used to collect

money and pay them salaries," Shanbagh said.

"The foundation had taken up the case of Akku and Leela who worked as sweeper and scavenger

in the Government Women's Training Institute, Udupi for a basic salary of Rs 15 a month for morethan 40 years. Inspite of having three court judgements including that of the Supreme Court, they

were denied their hard earned money. Akku and Leela were cleaning the toilets, kitchen, class-

rooms and hostels only with the hopes that the government would make their appointment perma-nent and reimburse their dues as per minimum wage criteria in lump sum. The Supreme Court ver-

dict is already 32 months old and the officials of Education department of the State are in no hurry

to obey the court order," Shanbhag said and alleged that there may be hundreds of such cases pre-

vailing

Vinobha K T, TNN Oct 17, 2012, 06.38PM IST


14/24

News Bulletin


Bulletin No. 5



15/24

News Bulletin


Bulletin No. 5



16/24

News Bulletin


Bulletin No. 5



17/24

News Bulletin


Bulletin No. 5


Two Indian women apply to Guinness World Records for theLowest Salary in the World

Where would you need to go to find the Worlds lowest paid workers? Not far It is here, in India.In a disgusting show of Indian Human Rightssham, two women, Akku and Leela Sherigar haveearned an average of 180 rupeesor 2a yearand for the past 11 years they have worked for

free after a dispute with their employer. These Indian cleaners have been given just 64 after 40

YEARSof scrubbing toiletswithout a day off (and theyve never had a pay rise!)

For more than 40 years theyve meticulouslytoiled away, cleaning and scrubbing toilets in south-

ern India.Astonishingly, however, the two dedicated cleaners have only received to the tune ofonly 64 EACH, for four decades of working their fingers to the bone.The two women, both aged

59, started working as toilet cleaners for the Governments Women Teachers Training Institute,

in South India,in 1971, for INR15 a month as fresh-faced 18-year-olds. However, theyve not had

a single pay rise ever since, even though they have never missed a days work.

Even though they are angry, theyve now applied to theGuinness Book of World Recordsfor thetitle of the lowest salary in the world. Akku said that they were promised a pay rise every year

which never came. They trusted their employers to eventually pay them. They never believed itd

come to this moment. They both take pride in their work and could not give it up. They have al-

ways hoped that one day, they would get what they were promised.

In 2001, they finally decided that they have had enough and complained tothe KarnatakaAdministrative Tribunal, in Udupi,near Goa.Following this complaint, their wages

were stopped altogether with no mention of any reimbursements. But the dedicated women still

continued their work of cleaning 21 toilets, thrice a day, seven days a week.

For the last 11 years, they have worked for literally for free.

The president of the Human RightsProtection Foundation, Ravindranath Shanbhag, has taken up

their case, and has been helping them take their case to the Supreme Court of India.

Even though in 2003, the Karnataka Administrative Tribunal ordered the government to pay out,no payment has been given to the women. The Karnatak High Court in 2004 and Supreme Court in

2010 also concluded that the Government should pay up, nothing has been done so far.

Akku and Leela are now praying that they will get what they deserved, with local support andsome help from the Indian press.They are due to retire next year and are hoping they are paid

along with the interest.

All we want is what is due to us, what our hard work through the past 42 years deserves, Akku

added.
http://hrpfudupien.hpage.co.in/http://hrpfudupien.hpage.co.in/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rightshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rightshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toilethttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toilethttp://maps.google.com/maps?ll=28.6133333333,77.2083333333&spn=10.0,10.0&q=28.6133333333,77.2083333333%20(India)&t=hhttp://maps.google.com/maps?ll=28.6133333333,77.2083333333&spn=10.0,10.0&q=28.6133333333,77.2083333333%20(India)&t=hhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Indiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Indiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_rupeehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_rupeehttp://www.amazon.com/Guinness-World-Records-2009/dp/1904994377%3FSubscriptionId%3D0G81C5DAZ03ZR9WH9X82%26tag%3Dzem-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3D1904994377http://www.amazon.com/Guinness-World-Records-2009/dp/1904994377%3FSubscriptionId%3D0G81C5DAZ03ZR9WH9X82%26tag%3Dzem-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3D1904994377http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=12.970214,77.56029&spn=1.0,1.0&q=12.970214,77.56029%20(Karnataka)&t=hhttp://maps.google.com/maps?ll=12.970214,77.56029&spn=1.0,1.0&q=12.970214,77.56029%20(Karnataka)&t=hhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Udupihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Udupihttp://maps.google.com/maps?ll=15.563,73.818&spn=1.0,1.0&q=15.563,73.818%20(Goa)&t=hhttp://maps.google.com/maps?ll=15.563,73.818&spn=1.0,1.0&q=15.563,73.818%20(Goa)&t=hhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rightshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rightshttp://maps.google.com/maps?ll=28.622237,77.239584&spn=0.01,0.01&q=28.622237,77.239584%20(Supreme%20Court%20of%20India)&t=hhttp://maps.google.com/maps?ll=28.622237,77.239584&spn=0.01,0.01&q=28.622237,77.239584%20(Supreme%20Court%20of%20India)&t=hhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Print_media_in_Indiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Print_media_in_Indiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Print_media_in_Indiahttp://maps.google.com/maps?ll=28.622237,77.239584&spn=0.01,0.01&q=28.622237,77.239584%20(Supreme%20Court%20of%20India)&t=hhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rightshttp://maps.google.com/maps?ll=15.563,73.818&spn=1.0,1.0&q=15.563,73.818%20(Goa)&t=hhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Udupihttp://maps.google.com/maps?ll=12.970214,77.56029&spn=1.0,1.0&q=12.970214,77.56029%20(Karnataka)&t=hhttp://www.amazon.com/Guinness-World-Records-2009/dp/1904994377%3FSubscriptionId%3D0G81C5DAZ03ZR9WH9X82%26tag%3Dzem-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3D1904994377http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_rupeehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Indiahttp://maps.google.com/maps?ll=28.6133333333,77.2083333333&spn=10.0,10.0&q=28.6133333333,77.2083333333%20(India)&t=hhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toilethttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rightshttp://hrpfudupien.hpage.co.in/


18/24

News Bulletin


Bulletin No. 5



19/24

News Bulletin


Bulletin No. 5



20/24

News Bulletin


2

Bulletin No. 5



21/24

News Bulletin


2

Bulletin No. 5



22/24

News Bulletin


2

Bulletin No. 5



23/24

News Bulletin


2

Bulletin No. 5



24/24

News Bulletin


Thanks !!!Please watch the story live on Spandana Channel at

8:00 pm on Thursday 8th August 2013,