The Supreme Court on Tuesday came down heavily on the sacking of a husband-wife sanitation worker duo employed on contract with the Varanasi municipal body, calling it a retaliation for approaching the court in a child-trafficking case. The bench ordered their immediate reinstatement within one hour.
A bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and KV Viswanathan was informed by senior advocate and amicus curiae Aparna Bhat that Pinki, mother of a trafficked infant, had alleged that both she and her husband were terminated by their contractual employer after they brought the trafficking matter before the top court.
The bench reacted sharply.
“We want them to be reinstated within an hour or whosoever is the authority concerned will be suspended. We want an update,” the judges told counsel for Uttar Pradesh. “Just because they approached the court, the authority got annoyed. We will not take this lightly.”
The court directed the state counsel to immediately call the officials concerned and report back on compliance.
Pinki’s one-year-old son, Bahubali, was kidnapped past midnight from Nadesar Cantt., Varanasi, while sleeping beside her. She lodged a complaint at the Cantonment police station the next day, leading to an FIR registered on April 30, 2023.
Although the initial police report treated it as a missing child case, further investigation revealed an organised interstate trafficking racket. Multiple arrests followed. The accused were later granted bail by the Allahabad High Court — an order now under challenge before the Supreme Court.
On April 15, the same bench had cancelled the bail of 13 accused, warning that the “cry of the collective for justice, its desire for peace and harmony” could not be trivialised. The Court also issued wide-ranging directions to fast-track child trafficking trials and instructed all High Courts to ensure such cases are concluded within six months.
On Tuesday, Bhat informed the bench that High Courts have complied with the direction to issue circulars for time-bound completion of trials.
The bench reviewed the UP government’s compliance with earlier orders directing admission of trafficked children under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009. The state said the affected children had not yet attained the age of five and would be admitted once eligible.
On compensation, the court noted that trial courts can award relief to trafficking victims under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, including through the Uttar Pradesh Rani Laxmi Bai Mahila Evam Bal Samman Kosh overseen by the Child Welfare Committee.
Expressing concern that some High Courts had submitted incomplete information on pending trafficking cases, the bench directed them to collate comprehensive data and file a status report after the winter break.
The top court also asked Additional Solicitor General Archana Pathak Dave, representing the Delhi government, to verify whether any newborns had been trafficked from hospitals in the national capital, and to report the action taken against such institutions.
The Court reiterated its April 15 observations on the sharp rise in child trafficking and the evolving methods of traffickers. It had noted that new factors are emerging across states, with traffickers exploiting gaps in the criminal justice system and manipulating vulnerable families.
While faulting the Allahabad High Court for granting bail in such grave offences, the bench had stressed that individual liberty, though vital, cannot be exercised in a manner that threatens the life and liberty of others.
The matter will be heard next after the winter vacation.
