India, March 18 -- The Bombay high court on Monday directed the state government to implement a series of welfare measures for sugarcane cutters, as per the suggestions of amicus curae Mihir Desai, during the next harvesting season, which runs from mid-October to late March.

The government must systematically register sugarcane workers under the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970, and the Inter-State Migrant Workmen Act, 1979, implement various laws and provisions including the Central Sector Scheme for the Rehabilitation of Bonded Laborers, and submit a compliance report by November 2025, said the division bench of chief justice Alok Aradhe and justice MS Karnik.

The court was hearing a suo moto public interest litiga...