New Delhi, Dec 17 (Reporter) The Supreme Court on Tuesday reserved its judgement on a plea seeking a comprehensive victim protection protocol for sex trafficking survivors, while emphasising that it would treat the matter “very seriously.” A bench comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan was hearing a miscellaneous application filed by ‘Prajwala,’ an organisation dedicated to combating sex trafficking. The plea stemmed from a previous order passed on December 9, 2015, in a writ petition filed in 2004. While the main petition was disposed of earlier, the application alleged non-compliance with the court’s directives and highlighted the stalled progress on anti-trafficking legislation. Senior Advocate Aparna Bhat, appearing for Prajwala, argued that there is no institutional framework to comprehensively address human trafficking and stressed on strengthening the existing mechanisms. Bhat pointed out two major issues - the Union Government’s failure to set up the Organised Crime Investigative Agency (OCIA) as promised under the 2015 order, and the lack of progress on legislative initiatives. She pointed out that the Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection, and Rehabilitation) Bill, 2018, lapsed after being passed by the Lok Sabha, as it was not considered by the Rajya Sabha. Bhat highlighted that while the National Investigation Agency (NIA) was tasked with handling trafficking cases after amendments to the NIA Act of 2008, the agency has investigated only around 10 cases, compared to nearly 1,000 reported annually. “Whichever agency investigates must have interstate or cross-border access, as local police are ill-equipped to handle such cases,” she argued. Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, representing the Union, contended that the provisions under the new Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2024 (BNS) sufficiently address organised trafficking. She informed the court that 827 anti-human trafficking units are currently operational across police stations. 14,000 women’s helplines have been established under the Nirbhaya Fund. 460 Shakti-Sadan shelter homes, under the Mission Shakti Scheme, are functional, providing survivors with counselling, skill training, and vocational support. Bhati further stated that Rs 200 crore has been allocated to states for victim compensation schemes, while the Crime Multi-Agency Centre (Cri-MAC) enables cross-border data sharing between police agencies. Bhat, however, raised objections regarding the merging of facilities for victims of trafficking with correctional homes. She emphasised that survivors, particularly those who are HIV-positive, need specialised care. Citing the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act of 1956, she pointed out the distinction between corrective institutions and protective homes, urging that the two should not be conflated. Justice Pardiwala, while referring to Section 21 of the Act, observed that the legislation uses the word “may establish,” indicating that setting up such facilities is not a strict mandate. He further queried, “How do we compel the Union to bring around legislation?” Concluding the arguments, Bhat reiterated the need for a specialised agency to comprehensively address sex trafficking and victim rehabilitation. She also emphasised the Union’s responsibility to fulfil its commitments under the 2015 order. The bench then reserved its judgement on the matter...////...