SC asks governments to take steps to prevent child trafficking amid pandemic

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court asked the central and state governments on Monday to gear up to prevent a possible spurt in chid trafficking for child labour and prostitution by registering all contractors and workers throughout the country amid mounting economic losses in the wake of Covid-19.

“Only policing will not do,” said a bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) SA Bobde, acting on a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by non-governmental organisation (NGO) Bachpan Bachao Andolan which sought a directive to the Centre and states to put in place a joint mechanism before the lockdown is completely lifted to pre-empt any such eventuality.

The government must register contractors and seek their list of employees to ensure that no child labour is employed, said the CJI. “We are the ones who provide them a market since child labour is so cheap,” he said.


“We will have to start with the contractors,” said the CJI, issuing notices on the PIL to the central and state governments. “Find out a way in which if somewhere a child is employed, what can be done. Can every contractor who does private work also be registered somewhere?”

Solicitor general Tushar Mehta said it was not an adversarial litigation and that he would sit with senior advocate HS Phoolka, who appeared for the NGO, and draw up a plan. The government is prepared to sit down and draw up a plan, said Mehta.

The court said it will hear the case again after two weeks.

The NGO contended that as per its information unscrupulous middlemen and agents of traffickers have already been in touch with many distressed families of migrants and others, who have been economically affected by the pandemic, seeking to enlist children as child labour or into prostitution.