Trafficking of women more heinous than drug peddling but law lenient: HC

NEW DELHI: Though trafficking of women and girls for commercial sexual exploitation is a more heinous crime than peddling drugs, the law makers have missed opportunities to prescribe stringent punishment for human trafficking, which attracts a lenient maximum three year jail term as against minimum 10 years for drug peddlers, says Odisha High Court.
Though it granted bail to a person accused of running a brothel because of relief already granted to co-accused in the same case, the HC gave vent to its anguish about lofty words said about prevention of trafficking of women and girls but little being done to enforce even the Immoral Trafficking (Prevention) Act, despite its lenient punishment regime for offenders.
Justice S K Panigrahi said, "Unfortunately, despite the protection afforded by the Constitution, the stringent laws and large number of treaties and conventions, commercial sexual exploitation with its concomitant human rights abuse is expanding multi-fold. The human rights discourse is profoundly silent on this grave issue.'
"Such exploitation is now not confined to conventional brothels, but is spreading everywhere including residential areas, hotels, clubs etc. as apparent in the present case. One cannot be oblivious of the fact that the ‘flesh trade’ today is evolving into varied forms with the advent of new technologies. This makes the strict enforcement of these laws even more challenging," he said.
The HC appeared to have made a comparison between the punishment provisions under Immoral Trafficking (Prevention) Act and Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. While the law against trafficking of women and girls for their commercial sexual exploitation provided a maximum punishment of three year imprisonment, the NDPS Act provided for a stringent maximum jail term of 20 years for commercial drug trafficking.
Justice Panigrahi said, "The complex and troubling issue as emerged in the instant case, in essence, demonstrates a conflict between collective morality of the society and markedly skewed legislations which mismatches the culpability of the participants in question (i.e. service provider, facilitator) and the recipient of the services. Though it involves clandestine and unlawful trafficking of girls but the law makers have missed the opportunity to prescribe a stringent punishment regime, even though the present offence is far more heinous than drug trafficking."
"The kingpins behind such sex rackets exert considerable influence in the area and are bound to intimidate the victims. More importantly, the safety and security of the witnesses is a major concern, especially in view of the fact that these are organized crime syndicates. The nature of crime is such that grant of bail will only embolden such hardened criminals, who keep evading the law and punishment, to perpetuate such heinous crimes," the HC said.
It quoted a Parliamentary Committee Report of 2006, which estimated 30 lakh women to be engaged in commercial sex trade. It also quoted a National Crime records Bureau report, which said in 2018 5,264 human trafficking cases were reported in India of which 25% were for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation or child pornography.