Hearing a PIL seeking protection for sexually exploited minors, the court wanted the government to come out with foolproof measures to curb the menace.
The Supreme Court on Friday sought to curb ‘sex tourism’ in the country and asked the Centre to take stringent measures against such revellers.
It directed that sexual assault on children must be registered as rape. “Obviously, it is a case of rape if the girls are less than 18 years. If you register 376 IPC [rape] case, they [the accused] will learn the lessons of their life,” an anguished bench of justice Dalveer Bhandari and justice AL Patnaik observed.
Expressing their displeasure at the government's apathy towards the victims, the justices remarked: “The problem is you [government] don’t do it. Gigantic problems have to be dealt [with] on a priority basis. It’s shocking that 70% of sex workers are children.”
Hearing a public-interest litigation seeking protection for the sexually exploited minors, the court wanted the government to come out with foolproof measures to curb the menace.
Counsel Aparna Bhat, who had initiated the PIL, said child prostitution has reached alarming proportions. “Just taking them out of the brothel and putting them on the streets is not going to solve the problem," the justices said. "The efforts will bear fruits only after they are properly rehabilitated, which is their [the children’s] right under Article 21 [right to liberty].”
The court continued: “The problem is of great magnitude. The government’s top priority should be to halt child trafficking. Sex tourism has to be curbed. A civilised society can’t have it. You have to strengthen the machinery… 70% of sex workers are children.
“Greater emphasis has to be laid as to how you [the government] are going to plug the problem and what mechanism you have. When you come to ground realities, even the parents are not willing to accept the children due to social stigma.”
The justices also told solicitor-general Gopal Subramanium, “We need enormous efforts because the gigantic problem cannot be solved mechanically. For that, there should be total assistance of the state’s enforcement agency, NGOs, and others because the problem is so widespread.
“Our real problem is implementation, which we lack. The stage of blame game is over.”
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