Karnataka govt to roll out Rs 1000 crore rehabilitation project for 7,483 manual scavengers: Report
Bengaluru: The Karnataka Social Welfare Department is likely to roll out a Rs 1,000-crore one-time rehabilitation project aimed at providing housing and dignified livelihoods to all 7,483 identified manual scavengers in the state, marking one of the largest state-led initiatives to eradicate the practice, according to a report by The New Indian Express.
Social Welfare Minister H.C. Mahadevappa mentioned that the state government is committed to permanently rehabilitating all identified manual scavengers by offering them housing, sustainable livelihoods, and access to social protection schemes.
“The project is in its early stages of formulation, and we are holding consultations to understand the best way forward,” TNIE quoted the minister as saying. He reiterated that the goal is to ensure manual scavengers can lead a dignified life and emphasised that the government aims to provide housing for all of them simultaneously, rather than implementing the project in phases where some may have to wait.
The government wants to complete the project by November 26, 2026, to mark Constitution Day, TNIE report quoted its sources as saying.
A senior official stated that the department has initiated discussions with the Housing Department and is considering three plans for rehabilitation. The first plan involves constructing houses for families of manual scavengers who already own plots. The second plan includes those without land, with the department planning a group housing scheme in rural areas where land will be identified to build homes for groups of four to five families. The third plan focuses on group housing in urban areas, with the department searching for land near Metro stations or other accessible locations.
All three options are under consideration, and a survey will be conducted to assess the number of families and estimate the costs, as the construction expenses will vary depending on the model.
Of the 7,483 identified manual scavengers, 1,625 are within the BBMP limits, followed by 1,381 in Mysuru and 1,224 in Kolar. In contrast, Vijayapura and Bagalkot have no recorded manual scavengers.
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High courts upheld only 8 per cent of death sentences; SC confirms none in recent years: Report
New Delhi (PTI): Highlighting that a high acquittal rate of death row convicts by the Supreme Court and high courts demonstrates a pattern of "erroneous or unjustified convictions", a study of 10 years of death penalty data has revealed that the top court did not confirm any death sentences in recent years.
The study by Square Circle Clinic, a criminal laws advocacy group with the NALSAR University of Law in Hyderabad, found that an overwhelming majority of death sentences imposed by trial courts did not withstand scrutiny at higher judicial levels. Acquittals far outnumbered confirmations at both the high courts and Supreme Court levels.
According to the report, the trial courts across India awarded 1,310 death sentences in 822 cases between 2016 and 2025. High courts considered 842 of these sentences in confirmation proceedings but upheld only 70 or 8.31 per cent.
In contrast, 258 death sentences (30.64 per cent) resulted in acquittals. The study noted that the acquittal rate at the high court level was nearly four times the confirmation rate.
Data showed that of the 70 death sentences confirmed by high courts, the Supreme Court decided 38 and did not uphold a single one. The apex court has confirmed no death sentences between 2023 and 2025.
"Wrongful or erroneous or unjustified convictions, then, are not random or freak accidents in the Indian criminal justice system. The data indicates they are a persistent and serious systemic concern," the report said.
Over the last decade, high courts adjudicated 1,085 death sentences in 647 cases, confirming only 106 (9.77 per cent). During this period, 326 persons in 191 cases, were acquitted.
The report attributed low confirmation rates to the appellate judiciary’s concerns regarding failures in due process. "This coincides with increased Supreme Court scrutiny of safeguards at the sentencing stage," the report said.
Of the 153 death sentences decided by the apex court over the last decade, the accused were acquitted in 38 cases. In 2025 alone, high courts overturned death sentences into acquittals in 22 out of 85 cases (over 25 per cent). The same year, Supreme Court acquitted accused persons in more than half of the death penalty cases it decided (10 out of 19), the report said.
The study highlighted that 364 persons who were ultimately acquitted "should not even have been convicted and unjustifiably suffered the trauma of death row". It added that such failures extend beyond adjudication and reflect serious lapses in investigation and prosecution.
The question of remedies for wrongful convictions remains pending before the Supreme Court. In September 2025, three persons acquitted by the apex court filed writ petitions seeking compensation from the state and argued that their wrongful convictions violated their fundamental right to life and liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution.
"In 2022, the Supreme Court crystallised a sentencing process in Manoj v. State of Madhya Pradesh , and mandated all courts to follow those guidelines before imposing or confirming a death sentence," the report read.
In 2025, the apex court held in Vasanta Sampat Dupare v. Union of India that death penalty sentencing hearings form part of the right to a fair trial and stressed that capital punishment can be imposed only after a constitutionally compliant sentencing process.
"However, even at the high courts whether the process mandated under Manoj is being complied with is in doubt,” the report said.
