In a welfare state, cleanliness for one class of citizens cannot be achieved by engaging others in slavery, the Bombay High Court has said and directed the city civic body to declare 580 of its workers as permanent employees and extend all benefits to them.

A single bench of Justice Milind Jadhav in the judgment in November 2023, made available on Thursday, noted the fundamental right of citizens to a clean environment cannot be achieved by subjugating the fundamental rights of the workers to basic human dignity.