In a major judgment, the Orissa High Court has expressed serious concern over increasing women trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation and advised the State Government to address the issue appropriately.
While disposing of a petition for bail, Justice SK Panigrahi strongly favoured for taking drastic action to curb such crime.
The crime of trafficking girls is dehumanising as well as utterly shameful to our civilised society. Despite constitutional dictums and legal provisions, the humanity is still struggling to combat human trafficking, he observed.
Quoting from official records, it is noted in the judgment that there were about 30 lakh women in the prostitution trade. As per NCRB report, 5,264 human trafficking cases were reported in India in 2018. Disturbingly, about 25 per cent of such cases were for purposes of sexual exploitation for prostitution and child pornography.
The court in its order further observed that prostitution is seen as a worst expression of the unequal distribution of power between men and women. Despite the substantial role of poverty in promoting sex commerce and human trafficking, the complexities of cultural values, attitudes and practices towards sex deserved serious consideration as well.
Justice Panigrahi while recognising the menace of human trafficking he has directed appropriate authorities to take up such issue for strengthening the institutional machineries and various statutory agencies to end such heinous crime.
The factual matrix of the instant case is that one Ibhrahim Khan and another Ruksar Begum of Dangohiri from Pipili were regularly trafficking girls from Kolkata and other places and engaging them in sexual exploitation for commercial purposes. These girls were forcefully sent to various hotels and lodges in Bhubaneswar where they were subjected to sexual abuse and exploitation.
The Superintendent of Police, STF, Bhubaneswar nabbed the kingpin Ibrahim and his wife from a rented building in Bhubaneswar and rescued six girls brought from Kolkata.
During raid, the police also seized huge cash and objectionable materials from the premises. Boss of the sex racket used to give only a sum of Rs 1,000 per day to the victim girls and pocketed lion share of the amount received from the customers.
Justice Panigrahi observed that even if the accused had a limited role in selling the victims or in the prostitution business, no leniency can be shown to him in as much as he played a major role in the racket to push the helpless and innocent girls into prostitution. If any leniency is shown for committing such heinous crime, like forcing a girl into prostitution, it would amount to an affront to the statutes which govern the field and more importantly the Constitution of India.
Marching a step forward, the Judge further remarked that the nature of the crime is such that grant of bail will only embolden such harden criminals who keep evading the law and punishment to perpetuate such heinous crime.
The complex and troubling issue as emerged in the instant case, in essence, demonstrate a conflict between collective morality of the society and markedly skewed legislations which mismatches the culpability of the participants in such crime and the recipient of the services, he said.
He has further clarified that his observations in the present judgment shall not come in the way of fair trial and the competent criminal court will proceed to decide the matter on its own merits, on influenced by the observations in the present case.
