India Country Report - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

Rescue, rehabilitation and re-integration of victims
Repatriation of cross-border trafficking victims
Salient features of the amendments to ITPA
Re-define the age of the child from 16 to 18 years.
Deletion of sections, which re-victimize the victims.
In-Camera proceedings in Courts to safeguard privacy of victims.
Enhanced punishment for traffickers, brothel keepers, pimps etc.
Punishment for persons who visit brothels for commercial sexual
exploitation.
Definition of ‘trafficking’ adopted from the UN Protocol.
Setting-up of Centre and State nodal authorities in the States for
preventing and combating offence of trafficking through coordination,
investigation, rescue, rehabilitation, judicial support, research and
training.
The Immoral Traffic
(Prevention) Act,
1956 (ITPA) is the
premier legislation for
prevention of trafficking
for commercial sexual
exploitation.
Legislative Measure
The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 (ITPA) is the premier legislation
for prevention of trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation. To further
strengthen the Act, amendments have been proposed to widen its scope, focus
on traffickers and perpetrators of crime, and prevent re-victimization of victims.
The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Bill, 2006 was introduced in the Parliament in
May 2006 and the report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee (PSC), which
went into all the provisions of the amendments, was submitted in November
2006. Presently, the Bill is under approval of competent authority before it is
sent back to the Parliament for consideration and passing.
The <strong>India</strong>n Penal Code – The <strong>India</strong>n Penal Code lays down a number of
provisions, which are related to trafficking. Some of these include:
Kidnapping, abducting or inducing woman to compel her for marriage,
etc (Section 366).
Selling minors for purposes of prostitution, etc (Section 372).
Buying minors for purposes of prostitution, etc (Section 373).
Wrongful restraint (Section 339).
Wrongful confinement (Section 340).
Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 (JJA) –
It is the primary law relating to juveniles in conflict with law as well as
children in need of care and protection. The Act seeks to provide care/
protection to children by catering to a child’s development needs, adopting
a child friendly environment and approach for adjudication of cases related
to juveniles/children, keeping the child’s “best interest” in mind and
rehabilitation of the child as the goal.
Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act – Prohibits employment of
children below the age of 14 years in notified hazardous occupations and
8 <strong>India</strong> <strong>Country</strong> <strong>Report</strong>