Core Issue and Magnitude of the Problem
- Child trafficking remains a grave human rights violation in India, involving recruitment, transportation, harbouring, or receipt of children for exploitation, despite an extensive constitutional, statutory, and judicial protection framework.
- According to NCRB data, about 3,098 children below 18 years were rescued in 2022, while over 53,000 children were rescued between April 2024 and March 2025 from labour, trafficking, and kidnapping.
- Despite large-scale rescue operations, the conviction rate for trafficking-related offences between 2018 and 2022 was only 4.8 percent, indicating serious enforcement and prosecution gaps.
Relevance
- GS I – Social issues, vulnerable sections, children, poverty, migration
- GS II – Constitution (Articles 23, 24, 39), BNS 2023, POCSO Act, Supreme Court judgments
International Legal Framework: Palermo Protocol
- The UN Palermo Protocol, 2000, defines child trafficking broadly as recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring, or receipt of a child for the purpose of exploitation, irrespective of consent.
- India, as a signatory, is obligated to prevent trafficking, protect victims, and prosecute offenders, integrating international norms into domestic law and policy frameworks.
Domestic Legal Definition under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023
- Section 143 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023 defines trafficking expansively, covering threats, force, coercion, abduction, fraud, deception, abuse of power, inducement, and payments.
- The definition includes sexual exploitation, forced labour, slavery, servitude, and organ removal, ensuring trafficking is punishable irrespective of victim consent, especially in the case of children.
Constitutional Protection of Children
- Article 23 prohibits human trafficking, begar, and forced labour, forming the constitutional foundation for India’s anti-trafficking regime.
- Article 24 explicitly bans employment of children below 14 years in hazardous industries, reinforcing the right to safe childhood and dignity.
- Article 39(e) and (f) directs the State to protect children from abuse, exploitation, and moral or material abandonment, linking child protection to Directive Principles of State Policy.
Statutory Framework Addressing Child Trafficking
- Sections 98 and 99 of BNS, 2023 specifically criminalise the selling and buying of minors, strengthening earlier IPC provisions.
- The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 addresses trafficking for sexual exploitation, particularly commercial sexual exploitation of children.
- The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 provides for rescue, care, rehabilitation, and social reintegration of trafficked children.
Role of POCSO Act, 2012
- The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 assumes critical importance by criminalising sexual assault, harassment, and child pornography through a gender-neutral framework.
- The Act prescribes stringent punishments including life imprisonment and death penalty in extreme cases, reflecting a zero-tolerance approach.
- Around 400 fast-track POCSO courts are operational nationwide, with a target of disposing 165 cases annually per court, aiming to reduce judicial delays.
Judicial Approach to Child Trafficking
- In Vishal Jeet vs Union of India (1990), the Supreme Court recognised trafficking and child prostitution as serious socio-economic problems requiring a preventive and humanistic approach.
- In M.C. Mehta vs State of Tamil Nadu (1996), the Court issued guidelines prohibiting child labour in hazardous industries and mandated rehabilitation measures.
- In Bachpan Bachao Andolan vs Union of India (2011), the Court issued comprehensive directions to address large-scale child trafficking and exploitation.
Recent Supreme Court Intervention: K.P. Kiran Kumar Case
- In K.P. Kiran Kumar vs State, the Supreme Court held that child trafficking grossly violates the fundamental right to life under Article 21.
- The Court issued strict preventive guidelines, emphasising victim-centric investigation, speedy trials, and accountability of enforcement agencies.
- The judgment stressed considering socio-economic vulnerabilities, particularly of children from marginalised and disadvantaged communities.
Socio-Economic Drivers of Child Trafficking
- Structural factors such as poverty, unemployment, migration, natural disasters, and breakdown of family systems significantly increase children’s vulnerability to traffickers.
- Marginalised communities face disproportionate risk due to lack of education, weak social protection, and limited access to institutional support.
Role of Digital Platforms and Social Media
- The spread of social media and online platforms has facilitated trafficking through deceptive recruitment, fake job offers, and promises of modelling or entertainment opportunities.
- Weak digital monitoring and limited cyber-policing capacity have allowed traffickers to exploit online anonymity and reach vulnerable children quickly.
Implementation and Enforcement Gaps
- Low conviction rates reflect poor investigation quality, witness intimidation, inter-State coordination failures, and procedural delays in the criminal justice system.
- Inadequate training of police and prosecutors in handling child-centric cases further weakens effective enforcement.
Importance of Centre–State Coordination
- Law and order and policing being State subjects, effective anti-trafficking action requires strong Centre–State coordination, intelligence sharing, and joint task forces.
- Inter-State trafficking networks cannot be dismantled without harmonised enforcement and real-time cooperation across jurisdictions.
Rehabilitation and Reintegration Challenges
- Rescue alone is insufficient without long-term rehabilitation, including education, counselling, skill development, and family reintegration.
- Weak post-rescue monitoring increases the risk of re-trafficking, especially in economically vulnerable regions.
Preventive and Rights-Based Approach
- A rights-based approach requires strengthening education access, nutrition, healthcare, social security, and child protection institutions to address root vulnerabilities.
- Preventive policies must integrate child welfare, labour reforms, disaster management, and migration governance.
Way Forward: Strengthening India’s Response
- India must focus on improving conviction rates through specialised anti-trafficking units, forensic support, fast-track courts, and victim protection mechanisms.
- Enhanced digital surveillance, cybercrime units, and platform accountability are essential to curb online recruitment and trafficking networks.
- Community awareness, school-level vigilance, and NGO partnerships can strengthen early detection and reporting mechanisms.
