New Delhi, Jan. 30 -- The Supreme Court on Wednesday, January 29, issued directives prohibiting manual scavenging and manual sewer cleaning in six metropolitan cities, including Mumbai and Delhi. The ruling came in response to a writ petition filed by one Balram Singh, seeking the complete eradication of manual scavenging in India.

Manual scavenging and manual sewer cleaning has been banned in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad. In its ruling, the Supreme Court said, "We hereby order manual sewer cleaning and manual scavenging shall be stopped in all top metropolitan cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Hyderabad."

The order was given by a Special Supreme Court Bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia...