Situation gone from bad to worse in Delhi: SC on child trafficking

Noting that the situation appeared to have gone from bad to worse, the Supreme Court on Monday asked the Delhi Police to take necessary steps to arrest an accused behind a child trafficking racket in the national capital.

“The situation seems to have gone from bad to worse…You have to find these missing children at any cost and arrest the kingpin,” a Bench led by Justice JB Pardiwala told a Delhi Police Inspector probing a case of trafficking of several newborns in the Dwarka area of Delhi.

The Bench directed the police station concerned to take all necessary steps to arrest gang leader Puja and trace the three missing infants.

“You never know where these children will land up. In the case of a girl child, you know where she lands…Unfortunately, the parents of the infants seem to have sold off their own children,” it said, posting the matter for hearing after four weeks when it will look into the steps taken to arrest the perpetrators.

Taking a serious view of inter-state child trafficking rackets, the Supreme Court on April 15 cancelled the bail granted to 13 accused in three cases lodged in Varanasi, saying the society’s cry for justice can’t be trivialised.

“The cry of the collective (society) for justice, its desire for peace and harmony and its necessity for security cannot be allowed to be trivialised. The life of an individual living in a society governed by the rule of law has to be regulated and such regulations which are the source in law sub-serve the social balance and function as a significant instrument for protection of human rights and security of the collective,” a Bench led by Justice Pardiwala had said.

“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 had noted.

Delhi