Important Cases 1. Abuse of legal system in trafficking of girls;<br> Commission calls for report from Delhi Police Commissioner

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The Commission has taken suo-motu cognizance of a complaint filed by the NGO, International Law Affiliates on the plight of poor girls in Nepal and India being trafficked and forced into prostitution in various red light areas. The complainant, while requesting the Commission to consider taking action, had forwarded a copy of his petition addressed to the Chief Justice of India dated 27 December 2004 as well as a news article captioned "The Girl Breakers of Delhi" published in a national daily on 19 December 2004.
The news article is a gory narration of trafficking and exploitation of girls belonging to lower strata of the community. It makes a reference to the collusion between the pimps, brothel owners and police officials to force poor gullible girls into the prostitution racket. As an example the news article highlighted one of the modus operandi as :-

"The farce follows set stages: a trumped-up case is registered against these minor girls falsely alleging that they were trying to solicit clients in a public place. The minor girls are then arrested and kept in lock-up while the police prepare a challan wherein the minor girls age is entered as 21. This entry is apparently sufficient to transform overnight the minor girl into an adult for all subsequent court proceedings. After this, these minor girls are produced before a magistrate and released on bail."

The Commission observed that the contents of the article, if true, portray a dismal picture of exploitation and trafficking of girls by the abuse of legal system in connivance with the authorities who are supposed to provide protection against such exploitation. The article points towards an organized racket in trafficking of girls and raises a serious human rights issue, which needs to be addressed with all seriousness.
It has directed that a copy of the petition along with a copy of the news article referred to above be forwarded to the Commissioner of Police, Delhi with a request to inquire into the matter and submit his report within four weeks.