| 04 February 2009: The state government of Delhi has submitted before the High Court of Delhi that to curb the instances of trafficking, especially domestic child labour, and to reign in the placement agencies mushrooming in the capital, the government will make a high level committee to draft guidelines for prevention of the crime of trafficking for forced labour and child labour in the capital.
Hearing a petition filed Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA), the court accepted the government’s submission and has granted the government 4 weeks to draft the abovesaid guidelines.
It is pertinent to note that since the rescue of 35 girls from placement agencies on 13th January 2009 by BBA and the subsequent inaction by Delhi police, the issue of trafficking for forced labour specially domestic servitude has been in the limelight of social, political and judicial agenda.
The court also raised concerns about the rehabilitation of rescued child labourers as well as emphasized on a need to train Judges on child rights and child labour related offences.
A division bench comprising of Chief justice Shri A. P. Shah and Justice Shri Sanjeev Khanna also ordered immediate framing of the protocol on rescue, repatriation and rehabilitation of child labourers(also ordered in another BBA petition) to be framed and filed within 4 weeks.
The judicial intervention shall go a long way in combating trafficking for forced labour in the capital and shall also act as a precedent to be followed throughout the country. |
