Child Trafficking in India: Problem, Legal Framework and Solutions

• Child trafficking remains a grave and persistent problem in India, affecting millions of children.
• Between April 2024 and March 2025, more than 53,000 children were rescued nationwide from trafficking, child labour and kidnapping.
• This crime violates children’s fundamental rights, including the right to life, dignity and freedom from exploitation.
• The Supreme Court, in K.P. Kiran Kumar v. State (2025), described child trafficking as a “deeply disturbing reality” and issued strict guidelines to address it.

How Should India Tackle Child Trafficking?

A multi-dimensional strategy is required, covering prevention, rescue, rehabilitation and legal enforcement.

1 Strong Legal Framework and Enforcement

Strict implementation of existing laws:

• Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 (ITPA)
• Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015
• Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012
• Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Care and Rehabilitation) Act, 2021

Additional measures:

• Establish fast-track courts and appoint special prosecutors to improve conviction rates.

2 Preventive Measures

• Address socio-economic vulnerabilities through education, poverty alleviation and awareness campaigns.
• Community-based monitoring, such as programs run by Childline/Child Protection organizations, with local vigilance committees.
• Increased surveillance in border areas and implementation of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) at transit points like railways and bus terminals.

3 Rescue and Rehabilitation

• Strengthen Anti-Human Trafficking Units (AHTUs).
• Implement SOPs for victim identification and connect survivors with rehabilitation schemes.
• Promote financial empowerment and skill development programs for rescued children.

4 Coordination and International Cooperation

• Enhance inter-state coordination, as trafficking networks operate across state borders.
• Partner with UNICEF and other international organizations to strengthen child protection systems.

5 Role of Community and Government

• Conduct awareness campaigns through radio, schools, street plays and local fairs.
• Regular training of police and judicial officers.
• A comprehensive approach, with prevention as the priority, can significantly reduce child trafficking.

What is the Palermo Protocol?

• Official name: “Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children.”
• It is a supplement to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime.
• Adopted in November 2000 and came into force on 25 December 2003.
• Objective: Prevent, suppress and punish human trafficking, especially of women and children.
• It provides the first internationally accepted definition of trafficking, based on three elements:
  • Act – recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring, receipt of persons
  • Means – threat, force, coercion, fraud, abuse of power
  • Purpose – exploitation
• Requires member states to criminalize trafficking, protect victims and strengthen international cooperation.
• Based on the “3P Framework”: Prevention, Protection and Prosecution.
• India ratified the Protocol in 2011, strengthening its anti-trafficking legal regime.

Definition of Human Trafficking under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023

The BNS, 2023 replaces the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Section 143 – Human Trafficking

• Definition: Recruitment, transportation, harbouring, transfer or receipt of a person for the purpose of exploitation.
• Exploitation includes: Physical or sexual exploitation, slavery, bonded labour, begging and organ removal.
• Means: Threat, force, abduction, fraud or abuse of power.
• Consent of the victim is irrelevant.
• Punishment:
  • For adults: 7–10 years imprisonment + fine
  • For children: 10 years to life imprisonment
  • Harsher punishment for trafficking of multiple persons, repeat offenders or public servants.

Section 144

• Treats exploitation of a trafficked person as a separate offence.
• Trafficking is classified as an organized crime. 

How Does the Indian Constitution Protect Children from Exploitation ?

• Article 23: Prohibits human trafficking, bonded labour and forced labour.
• Article 24: Prohibits employment of children below 14 years in factories, mines or hazardous work.
• Article 39(e) & (f): Protects children from exploitation and ensures healthy development.
• Article 21: Right to life and personal liberty, interpreted to include dignity, education and freedom from exploitation.
• Article 46: Protects weaker sections from social injustice and exploitation.

These provisions ensure a dignified and secure life for children. 

Key Supreme Court Judgments on Child Trafficking

• K.P. Kiran Kumar v. State (2025): Trafficking violates the fundamental right to life; trafficked children are treated as “injured witnesses.”
• Vishal Jeet v. Union of India (1990): Recognized trafficking and child prostitution as socio-economic problems; emphasized prevention.
• Bachpan Bachao Andolan v. Union of India (2011): Issued guidelines on child protection and trafficking.
• M.C. Mehta v. State of Tamil Nadu: Guidelines on child labour linked with trafficking.

Courts have directed states on data collection, timely filing of charge-sheets and witness protection. 

Why Strong Centre–State Coordination is Essential

• Concurrent responsibility: Law and order is a state subject, but policies and funding come from the Centre.
• Inter-state investigations: Trafficking networks cross borders; information sharing and joint operations are necessary.
• Resource allocation: Central support helps backward and vulnerable regions.
• National coordination: Inter-ministerial committees guide and monitor state efforts.

Strong Centre–State cooperation ensures a uniform and effective national response against child trafficking.