Right to health for asbestos-exposed workers extends to medical care, preventive safeguards, and public law compensation.

Workers exposed to asbestos were recognised as entitled to constitutional protection for health, medical care, humane working conditions, and dignity as part of the right to life. The Court's public law powers were treated as sufficient to justify binding preventive and remedial directions, including preservation of health records, medical surveillance, insurance coverage, review of exposure limits, re-examination of affected workers, and compensation where occupational disease is certified. The analysis links the State's duty to secure social justice and a safe working environment with enforceable protective measures for industrial workers exposed to grave occupational health hazards.

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Issues: Whether workmen exposed to asbestos are entitled to protective directions, medical surveillance, and compensation on the footing that the right to health and medical care forms part of the right to life.

Analysis: The judgment holds that industrial exposure to asbestos creates grave occupational health hazards and that the constitutional guarantee of life must be read in a meaningful way to include health, medical aid, humane working conditions, and dignity. Reliance is placed on the directive principles and on the State's obligation to secure social justice, protection of workers, and a safe working environment. It is further held that in appropriate public law proceedings the Court may issue binding directions under its constitutional powers and award monetary compensation for violation of fundamental and human rights. On that basis, the Court directed preservation of health records, adoption of the membrane filter test, compulsory insurance coverage, review of permissible exposure limits, consideration of coverage of small-scale units, re-examination of affected workers, and compensation where occupational disease is certified.

Conclusion: The right to health and medical aid for workers exposed to asbestos was recognised as part of the right to life, and the writ petition was allowed with consequential protective and compensatory directions.

Ratio Decidendi: The right to life under the Constitution includes the right to health, medical care, and humane working conditions for workers, and the Court may grant appropriate public law compensation and issue preventive directions to enforce that right.

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