NHRC, India takes suo motu cognizance of the reported death of four workers while cleaning a septic tank at a jewellery manufacturing unit in the Surat district, Gujarat

• NHRC took suo motu cognizance of the death of four workers while cleaning a septic tank at a jewellery manufacturing unit in Surat, Gujarat on 7 June 2026.
• Reportedly entered the tank without safety protocol — a recurring pattern of hazardous/manual cleaning despite a statutory ban under the 2013 Act.
• Relevance: GS-II (statutory bodies, vulnerable sections), GS-I (social issues — caste-linked occupational hazard), GS-IV (ethics of dignity of labour).