The Supreme Court on Monday took serious note of a petition filed by Bachpan Bachao Andolan, an NGO headed by Nobel Prize laureate Kailash Satyarthi, alerting that the period of opening up after the national lockdown will see a considerable spike in child trafficking for labour and prostitution.
A Bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sharad A. Bobde asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to enquire into the issue and report back to the court in two weeks.
“The opening of the lockdown would see a massive spurt in the cases of child trafficking... The pandemic, the lockdown and its aftermath would have a dauntingly adverse impact on children,” the NGO said.
The lockdown spelt catastrophe for the poor. The economic crisis, increased insecurity, poverty and marginalisation would see the poorest try to clutch on to the last straws for their survival. They may be forced to push their children into the hands of traffickers. The most affected would be agricultural families considering the crisis seen in the sector, it stated.
Formation of panel
The court suggested forming an expert committee to frame a policy to prevent and protect children from private contractors who are part of the mafia. It urged the NGO, represented by senior advocate H.S. Phoolka and advocate J.S. Chhabra, with its wide experience of with child issues, to also suggest a protective mechanism to the court.
“We are aware that trafficking is being done for prostitution and for labour... If need arises, we may also form a panel of experts to study the issue”, Chief Justice Bobde observed orally in a virtual hearing.
Mr. Mehta said this was not an adversarial litigation and the government would sit together with the NGO and frame a mechanism.
The NGO referred to the Court’s 2012 judgment, which had held that an FIR should be compulsorily registered in the case of every missing child.
