Human Trafficking
Legal Framework in India
Human trafficking is criminalised in India primarily under Section 370 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which was comprehensively reframed by the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 2013. Section 370 IPC defines trafficking as recruitment, transportation, harbouring, or receipt of a person using coercion, abduction, fraud, or deception for the purpose of exploitation. Consent of the victim is explicitly irrelevant when any of these means are used. Section 370A additionally criminalises exploitation of a trafficked person.
- IPC Section 370 (post-2013): Covers trafficking for sexual exploitation, forced labour, organ harvesting, or any form of exploitation; punishable with 7 years to life imprisonment depending on the victim's age and manner of commission.
- Immoral Traffic Prevention Act (ITPA), 1956: The older legislation specifically targeting trafficking for sexual exploitation; still in force alongside IPC Section 370.
- UN Palermo Protocol (2000) — formally the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons: India ratified it in 2011; the Protocol defines trafficking comprehensively and obligates state parties to criminalise trafficking and provide victim protection.
- The Trafficking in Persons (Prevention, Protection and Rehabilitation) Bill, 2018 was introduced as enabling legislation post-ratification but lapsed with the dissolution of the 16th Lok Sabha; a revised version is under consideration.
● Tracked since March 15, 2026 · last seen April 10, 2026 · updates as the daily brief publishes
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