Trafficked Girl Rescued From Bangladesh & Reunited With Parents In India: Calcutta HC Lauds Efforts Of All Stakeholders, Directs Rehabilitation Of Victim

In a significant development, a victim girl who had been trafficked to Rangpur, Bangladesh has been rescued and reunited with her parents back in India. The Court had earlier directed the Central government to take concrete measures to ensure immediate repatriation of the victim to India.

On Tuesday, Justice Rajasekhar Mantha recorded his appreciation and gratitude towards the efforts put in by the High Commission of India at Dhaka and High Commission of Bangladesh at Kolkata in helping with the recovery of the victim girl. He further appreciated the efforts of other stakeholders by observing, 

"In the present case as well, this Court had attempted to employ all the faculties available to it, to rescue the victim, a little girl, from her traffickers, and to reunite her with her parents. Its efforts were complemented by a host of individuals and institutions, and the Court expresses its immense gratitude to the all those involved in the rescue efforts."

The Court further extended its appreciation to all the concerned counsels by underscoring, 

"A task that initially seemed uphill, has been made possible with the active participation, cooperation and untiring effort put in by Ms. Susmita Saha Dutta, Mr. Niladri Saha, the learned counsel for the petitioner; Mr. Y.J. Dastoor, learned Additional Solicitor General; Ms. Chandreyi Alam (Gupta), Ms. Runu Mukherjee, learned counsel for the Union of India; Mr. Debasish Tandon, learned counsel for the Union of India; Mr. Sirsanya Bandopadhyay and Ms. Tapati Samanta, learned counsel for the State."

Justice Mantha observed that the exercise of jurisdiction under Article 226 must be used in every new and ingenious manner to protect and afford the remedies under Article 21.

The Court further noted that human trafficking inflicts a devastating blow to the life and liberty of victims thereby violating the rights enshrined under Article 21 of the Constitution. Reliance was placed on the Supreme Court judgment in Kharak Singh v. State of Uttar Pradesh wherein the Apex Court had observed that the term 'life' does not mean mere animal existence.

The Court further averred that the writ jurisdiction of Constitutional Courts under Article 32 and Article 226 forms the life- blood of the Constitution as it effectuates and enforces the Fundamental Rights of citizens, in the absence of which, the existence of those rights would be in vain. It was stated further that the acknowledgement of this power and responsibility has been further solidified by the inclusion of these provisions under the Basic Structure of the Constitution as per the Supreme Court case of  L. Chandra Kumar vs. Union of India. 

"More importantly, the Writ Jurisdiction of the High Courts being wider than that of the Supreme Court places on its shoulders added responsibilities under the constitutional scheme. This Court under Article 226 is thus bound by an indispensable duty to exercise all the powers vested on it to  ensure the exercise of all possible efforts to protect the Fundamental Rights of citizens", the Court highlighted further. 

During the proceedings, advocate Srisanya Bandhopadhyay appearing for the State submitted that this is the first time he has seen exercise of jurisdiction under Article 226 to recover a trafficked victim from a foreign country.

Opining that the instant case should serve as a precedent when Courts are faced with territorial and other limitations, Justice Mantha further remarked, 

"This case has proven that territorial and other limitations are easily defeated in the face of an overwhelming determination of find suitable solutions. This Court hopes that this will set a precedent for future cases where Courts or other authorities feel helpless and tied down by such similar difficulties. In the words of two famous people, "It always seems impossible until its done.", and "Perseverance is not a long race: it is many short races one after the other."
 

The Court further directed the concerned authorities to take all possible measures to rehabilitate the victim girl. The State shall also undertake whatever steps necessary in this regard, the Court stated further. 

Accordingly, the petition was disposed of. 

Also Read: 'Take Immediate Measures To Repatriate Victim To India': Calcutta High Court Directs Union In A Case Of Trafficking Of Girl From India To Bangladesh

Case Title: Iti Pandit v. The Union of India and Ors

Case Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (Cal) 53 

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