Child trafficking: Situation gone from bad to worse, says apex court

PTI, NEW DELHI, APRIL 21, 2025 :  While asking Delhi Police to take steps to arrest an accused behind a children trafficking racket in the capital, the Supreme Court on Monday said the "situation seems to have gone from bad to worse". A bench comprising Justices J.B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan made the observations while interacting with a Delhi Police inspector entrusted with the probe in a case over trafficking of several newborns in Dwarka area.

"The situation seems to have gone from bad to worse," Justice Pardiwala said and directed the police station concerned to take all necessary steps to arrest gang leader Puja and the three missing infants. Taking a dim view of the alleged involvement of parents in trafficking of infants, the bench said: "You never know where these children will land up. In the case of a girl child, you know where she lands." The judge added: "Unfortunately, the parents of the infants seem to have sold off their own children."

The bench posted the case after four weeks and asked the police officer to apprise it of the steps taken in the case at hand. "You have to find these missing children at any cost and arrest the kingpin," the bench said. Delhi Police was represented by Additional Solicitor General Archana Pathak Dave.

The Supreme Court on April 15 delivered a significant judgment on the issue of inter-state child trafficking rackets in another case. It then cancelled the bail granted to 13 accused in that case and said the "cry of the collective for justice, its desire for peace and harmony" couldn't be trivialized. The apex court asked the government to ensure the trafficked children were admitted in schools in accordance with the provisions of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, and had continued support towards education.

The Supreme Court observed that trafficking in India took diverse forms, each prevailing across states. "An overall analysis of trafficking patterns across states reiterates the prevalence of trafficking in large numbers, with the number of cases sharply rising with time. What is of concern is the rapid spread of the problem with previously unknown factors getting embedded in the web of traffickers," it said. The changing trafficking patterns, the court said, brought "changes in the traffickers, their modus operandi, their manipulation of the victims, and their understanding of the limitations in the criminal justice system.