To provide speedier relief to foreign victims of human trafficking in India, the Union home ministry has advised all states and UTs to follow strict procedures to first ascertain whether a foreign national, apprehended in connection with human trafficking, is a victim or a trafficker.
The first of its kind advisory sent to states earlier this month says that if after investigation, the woman or child is found to be a victim, and “if investigation reveals that she did not come to India or indulge in crime out of her own ‘free will’, the state government may not file a chargesheet against the victim. If the chargesheet has already been filed under the Foreigners Act and other relevant laws of the land, steps may be taken to withdraw the case from prosecution so far as the victim is concerned,” it says.
The MHA has called for immediate steps to ensure such a person is repatriated to the country of her origin through diplomatic channels.
The advisory on ‘’preventing and combating human trafficking in India, dealing with foreign nationals,” says that “the victims and the persons actually involved in human trafficking should be treated differently by the police authorities keeping in line with the Saarc convention which advocates a victim-centric approach’’.
The MHA is also asking states to inform missions or posts in India of the arrest or detention of foreign nationals through the concerned territorial division in ministry of external affairs. “It has come to the notice of this ministry that foreign nationals are associated in some instances of human trafficking among women and children,” says the advisory enlisting detailed procedures to be followed by states in such cases. The MHA says if investigation reveals that the person is actually a trafficker, then the person may be chargesheeted under the Immoral Trafficking Act and the Foreigners Act and due processes of law should be followed in such cases. However, in cases where the foreign national is a “victim’’, due care should also be taken till the victim’s repatriation, by keeping the victim in an appropriate children’s home, shelter home of the state government concerned or any NGO aided by the central or state government.
The MHA has advised states to encourage law enforcement agencies to investigate the cases in a manner that they are able to build fool-proof cases against the traffickers, so that convictions can be guaranteed. Use of fast-track courts and video-conferencing to the extent possible also needs to be ensured, it says.