A bench of Justices Dalveer Bhandari and A K Patnaik, hearing a pending petition on child labour filed by Bachpan Bachao Andolan, a voluntary agency, said: “India is now becoming a hub of child sex abuse.”
Referring to a survey report published by a weekly, the bench said sex trade involving children “has gone up in recent times. The most serious problem is the use of children for sex trade. While this crime is growing, hardly any case is registered. If a case is registered, it will have a deterrent effect.”
The court also expressed concern over the condition of sex workers. “Most of the sex workers in India are HIV positive. They are still continuing with the trade. They will multiply the disease,” it said.
The court said “the government must act to curb such a menace.”
The judges directed the government to come with a concrete plan on February 8, the next date of hearing.
Published 29 January 2010, 19:39 IST