Anti-Trafficking Bill: Concerns Remain
Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
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By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2021-12-08 06:56:46
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Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
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When putting up the draft Trafficking in Persons (Prevention, Care and Rehabilitation) Bill (likely to be introduced in the winter session of Parliament) on its website in July 2021, the ministry had said that it was being introduced "to prevent and counter trafficking in persons, especially women and children, to provide for care, protection and rehabilitation of victims, while respecting their rights and creating a supportive legal, economic and social environment for them".
All of this, including proper investigation and punishment of perpetrators (which the draft bill addresses) needs to be done. While there is no denying that trafficking as an organized crime has taken strong roots in India and needs to be wiped out and the present bill is an improvement over a similar bill that was passed in the Lok Sabha in 2018 (it lapsed as it was never put up in the Rajya Sabha), concerns still remain. The present bill was drafted after the ministry factored in feedback from activists, lawyers and experts but it seems not all things have been looked into.
Kolkata-based NGO Durbar, working with sex workers, has raised the issue of the bill clubbing trafficking with sex work. A press release from the organization said that "the Draft Trafficking Bill has mixed up the issue of trafficking and sex work. Prostitution and Pornography have been added as definition of exploitation and sexual exploitation and is considered to be Trafficking in Persons. Consent of the victim has been made irrelevant." This is a valid objection and must be addressed.
Then, although the draft bill provides for National Investigation Agency to be the nodal agency for carrying out nation-wide investigation of reported crimes under the proposed Act and mandates for a National Anti-Trafficking Committee and state committees, it is silent on the role of the existing Anti-Human Trafficking Units (AHTU) that were funded and put in place to carry out interstate investigations. Although only 27% of these units are reportedly functioning as of now, as they work on the ground, it is necessary that their role is clearly defined and they are provided statutory support to strengthen the fight against trafficking.
There are also concerns that community-based rehabilitation has not been provided for, definition of reintegration is missing and the bill says nothing about the funds to be allocated for the rehabilitation of survivors. Experts have also pointed out that since laws already exist for forced labour and sexual exploitation there will be overlapping and it is not clear which law would prevail. Hence, they suggest a comprehensive law that repeals provisions in other laws similar to those being proposed in the draft bill.
The good thing is that the draft bill makes the definition of a trafficker wide by making it applicable to "all citizens of India, within and outside the country, persons on any ship or aircraft registered in India wherever it may be or carrying Indian citizens wherever they may be, and a foreign national or a stateless person who has residence in India." Additionally, it "shall apply to every offence of trafficking in persons with cross-border implications". This is important as India has become the transit point of persons being trafficked from neighbouring Nepal and Bangladesh and Indian nationals, along with citizens of those countries, are often involved in the crime. The draft bill also widens the definition of the "victim" by including transgenders, besides women and children.
The bill also proposes stringent punishment. It proposes that all offenders "shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than seven years but which may extend to ten years and shall also be liable to fine which shall not be less than one lakh rupees". Aggravated offences, which will include cases that may result in the death of the victim or where the victim suffers grievous injury (in cases such as acid attack), organ mutilation or removal of organs, or where the victim is a child, will attract more punishment. In case of the death of the victim, the bill proposes life imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 30 lakh. The bill widens the range of offenders who can be booked under the law, bringing public servants, armed forces personnel or anyone in a position of authority under its ambit. Penalty for the guilty will include life imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 30 lakh.
