Delhi HC Seeks Government Response on Plight of Trafficked Minors Forced into Bonded Labour

The Delhi High Court has called upon the city government to respond to a plea demanding the rescue of over 1,000 trafficked minors forced into bonded labour. Petitioner Rohtas, supporting NGO 'Sahyog Care For You', has reported multiple complaints about children facing unsafe and hazardous working conditions without any action taken so far.

The Delhi High Court on Monday directed the city government to respond to a plea urging authorities to raid and rescue over 1,000 minors trafficked and bound into forced labour across the capital.

A bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela issued a notice to the Delhi government, Department of Revenue, Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights, and National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, with a hearing set for July 18.

Petitioner Rohtas, affiliated with NGO 'Sahyog Care For You', filed a PIL reporting that he has lodged 18 complaints urging authorities to act on rescuing 245 children and 772 adolescents working in extremely hazardous and unsanitary conditions for over 12-13 hours daily.

The plea highlighted that trafficked minors were under severe health risks and unsafe environments. However, Delhi government's standing counsel Santosh Kumar Tripathi argued that addresses of suspected locations were not provided, complicating enforcement efforts.

As the petitioner relayed that only three SDMs had communicated about a meeting, Tripathi assured that Rohtas would meet with the SDM headquarters on Monday. The bench reaffirmed that the administration was mandated to act swiftly, citing previous court judgments.

The PIL stressed that no actions had been taken for over two months since the initial complaints, despite the law requiring rescues to occur within 24-48 hours. It argued that authorities were legally bound to urgently identify, rescue, release, and rehabilitate victims, and initiate legal actions against offenders.

The petitioner seeks immediate investigations and actions on complaints of child labour, bonded labour, and trafficking within mandated timeframes.

(With inputs from agencies.)