By IANS,
New Delhi : The Delhi government Wednesday informed the Delhi High Court that it will constitute a committee to frame guidelines against human trafficking, especially of domestic child labour through illegal placement agencies in the capital.
A division bench headed by Chief Justice Ajit Prakash Shah and Justice Sanjeev Khanna pulled up the government for its “lax attitude” towards curbing the practice of mushrooming placement agencies that lead to human trafficking.
The court was hearing a public interest petition filed by an NGO, Bachapan Bachao Andolan, which alleged that placement agencies were responsible for the illegal trafficking of girls. It sought a direction to the state government for compulsory registration of all such agencies.
The court asked the government to file its response in four weeks.
It also raised concerns about the rehabilitation of rescued child labourers and emphasised the need to train judges on child rights and child labour related offences.
It ordered authorities to make all necessary arrangements for the rescue and rehabilitation of child labour at the earliest.
The court took a note of a plea from advocate Ashok Aggarwal who asked the court to frame the guidelines. Aggarwal last month helped the labour department rescue an 11-year-old girl, who was employed through a placement agency.
The matter is now slated for further hearing March 24.
According to the NGO, 35 girls and four boys were rescued from various placement agencies in the national capital last month.