‘Unreasonable restriction’: Bombay High Court quashes one-year detention of adult trafficking victim

The Bombay High Court recently quashed orders directing the one-year detention of an adult woman rescued during a police raid, holding that a major victim under the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 (PITA) cannot be confined in a protective home solely on apprehensions of relapse into immoral activities.

Justice N J Jamadar allowed the plea filed by a woman, challenging orders passed by a Judicial Magistrate and affirmed by the sessions court, which had directed her detention in a protective home for one year.

The court observed that in the absence of material to show that the role attributed to the victim would fall within the penal provisions of PITA 1956, the victim could not be subjected to restrictions on the basis of assertion that she may again indulge in immoral acts.

“PITA 1956 was not meant to punish a victim of the sexual exploitation. In the absence of material to show that the role attributed to the victim would fall within the dragnet of any of the penal provisions, the victim cannot be subjected to unreasonable restrictions on the basis of a bald assertion that the victim may again indulge in immoral acts,” the order read.

Ashish Shaji is a Senior Sub-Editor at The Indian Express, wh... Read More