Reality of child trafficking, commercial sexual exploitation 'deeply disturbing', says SC

New Delhi, Dec 19 (PTI) Taking note of "deeply disturbing" child trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation in the country, the Supreme Court on Friday said the deposition of a victim of sex trafficking, particularly a minor, should be given due regard and credence.

A bench of Justices Manoj Misra and Joymalya Bagchi said the courts must appreciate the evidence of a minor victim of trafficking keeping in mind her inherent socio-economic and, at times, cultural vulnerability when she belongs to a marginalised or socially and culturally backward community.

The top court made the observations while dealing with a case of child trafficking of girls.

"Complex and layered structure of organised crime networks operate at various levels of recruiting, transporting, harbouring and exploiting minor victims. Such organised crime activities operate as apparently independent verticals whose insidious intersections are conveniently veiled through subterfuges and deception to hoodwink innocent victims.

"Such diffused and apparently disjoint manner in which the crime verticals operate in areas of recruitment, transportation, harbouring and exploitation make it difficult, if not impossible, for the victim to narrate with precision and clarity the interplay of these processes as tentacles of an organised crime activity to which she falls prey," the bench said.

The apex court said given this situation, failure to promptly protest against ostensibly innocuous yet ominous agenda of the trafficker ought not to be treated as a ground to discard a victim's version as improbable or against ordinary human conduct.

"Recounting and narration of the horrible spectre of sexual exploitation even before law enforcement agencies and the Court is an unpalatable experience leading to secondary victimisation. This is more acute when the victim is a minor and is faced with threats of criminal intimidation, fear of retaliation, social stigma and paucity of social and economic rehabilitation.

"In this backdrop, judicial appreciation of the victim's evidence must be marked by sensitivity and realism. If on such nuanced appreciation, the version of the victim appears to be credible and convincing, a conviction may be maintained on her sole testimony. A victim of sex trafficking, particularly a minor, is not an accomplice and her deposition is to be given due regard and credence as that of an injured witness," the bench said.

The court said the instant case lays bare the "deeply disturbing" reality of child trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation in India, an offence that strikes at the very foundations of dignity, bodily integrity and the state's constitutional promise of protection to every child against exploitation leading to moral and material abandonment.

It said the acts before it are not isolated aberrations but form part of a wider and entrenched pattern of organised exploitation that continues to flourish despite legislative safeguards. PTI PKS DIV DIV