<p>New Delhi: The <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/search?q=supreme%20court">Supreme Court</a> on Friday laid down a comprehensive legal framework to tackle <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/search?q=human%20trafficking">human trafficking</a> for commercial sexual exploitation and mandated dignified rehabilitation of survivors across the country.</p><p>A bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan issued binding directions to the Centre and all states for the implementation of a nationwide “victim protection plan” covering rescue, identification, rehabilitation, prosecution, and better institutional coordination.</p><p>The court described human trafficking as a "direct assault on constitutional dignity."</p><p>"This will remain very close to our hearts because it will go a long way in protecting vulnerable young girls and women," Justice Pardiwala observed while pronouncing the judgment.</p><p>The bench clarified that consent is the decisive factor in distinguishing trafficking from voluntary adult sex work.</p><p>It directed police and rescue authorities to conduct an immediate threshold inquiry before taking coercive action to prevent misuse of anti-trafficking laws.</p><p>The court emphasised that once trafficking is established through force, coercion, deception, or exploitation, consent becomes legally irrelevant.</p>.'Gangs operating across country': Supreme Court asks states to act vigilantly in child trafficking cases.<p>Rescue operations under Sections 15 and 16 of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956, must focus on identifying exploitation, coercion, abuse or force rather than indiscriminately targeting consenting adults in sex work, the court ordered.</p><p>Underscoring that the right to rehabilitation flows directly from Article 21 of the Constitution, the bench said it is integral to the right to live with dignity.</p><p>The victim protection plan includes minimum standards for shelter homes, mental health care, vocational training, compensation, legal aid, witness protection, and reintegration support.</p><p>The judgment also integrates the Juvenile Justice Act and the POCSO Act into the anti-trafficking framework and calls for closer coordination among Child Welfare Committees, Anti-Human Trafficking Units, One Stop Centres, legal aid authorities, and state protection homes.</p><p>The court directed listing the matter again after three months to monitor compliance by the Union government and all states and Union Territories.</p><p>The directions came on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed in 2004 by NGO Prajwala highlighting the alarming rise in human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation of women and children.</p>
<p>New Delhi: The <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/search?q=supreme%20court">Supreme Court</a> on Friday laid down a comprehensive legal framework to tackle <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/search?q=human%20trafficking">human trafficking</a> for commercial sexual exploitation and mandated dignified rehabilitation of survivors across the country.</p><p>A bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan issued binding directions to the Centre and all states for the implementation of a nationwide “victim protection plan” covering rescue, identification, rehabilitation, prosecution, and better institutional coordination.</p><p>The court described human trafficking as a "direct assault on constitutional dignity."</p><p>"This will remain very close to our hearts because it will go a long way in protecting vulnerable young girls and women," Justice Pardiwala observed while pronouncing the judgment.</p><p>The bench clarified that consent is the decisive factor in distinguishing trafficking from voluntary adult sex work.</p><p>It directed police and rescue authorities to conduct an immediate threshold inquiry before taking coercive action to prevent misuse of anti-trafficking laws.</p><p>The court emphasised that once trafficking is established through force, coercion, deception, or exploitation, consent becomes legally irrelevant.</p>.'Gangs operating across country': Supreme Court asks states to act vigilantly in child trafficking cases.<p>Rescue operations under Sections 15 and 16 of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956, must focus on identifying exploitation, coercion, abuse or force rather than indiscriminately targeting consenting adults in sex work, the court ordered.</p><p>Underscoring that the right to rehabilitation flows directly from Article 21 of the Constitution, the bench said it is integral to the right to live with dignity.</p><p>The victim protection plan includes minimum standards for shelter homes, mental health care, vocational training, compensation, legal aid, witness protection, and reintegration support.</p><p>The judgment also integrates the Juvenile Justice Act and the POCSO Act into the anti-trafficking framework and calls for closer coordination among Child Welfare Committees, Anti-Human Trafficking Units, One Stop Centres, legal aid authorities, and state protection homes.</p><p>The court directed listing the matter again after three months to monitor compliance by the Union government and all states and Union Territories.</p><p>The directions came on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed in 2004 by NGO Prajwala highlighting the alarming rise in human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation of women and children.</p>
