While denying bail to a man who is allegedly involved in the trafficking of a 10-month-old child, the Bombay High Court observed that child trafficking is one of the most serious and heinous forms of exploitation, which not only impacts the child and its family, but also threatens the very fabric of the society.
๐ ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฑ ๐ธ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ป๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ถ๐ป๐ณ๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐น๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐๐น๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐บ๐ผ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ
On March 14, Justice Anuja Prabhudessai dismissed the bail plea of Parandam Gudenti who was arrested for kidnapping an infant from Bandra in August 2021 when she was sleeping with her mother on the footpath. He was booked on the charges of criminal conspiracy, kidnapping, wrongful confinement, and trafficking.
โChild trafficking is one of the most serious and heinous forms of exploitation which not only impacts the child and the family but threatens the very fabric of the society,โ said Justice Prabhudessai, adding that considering the gravity of the offence she was not inclined to grant bail to Gudenti.
๐๐ผ-๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ๐น๐ฑ ๐ถ๐ป๐ณ๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ โน๐ญ.๐ฑ ๐น๐ฎ๐ธ๐ต
According to the prosecution, a co-accused kidnapped the infant and sold her to Gudenti for Rs1.5 lakh. He, in turn, trafficked the infant to another co-accused for Rs1.3 lakh, who sold her to a childless couple for Rs35,000. The police recovered Rs1.3 lakh from Gudenti.
Gudentiโs advocate contended that the couple who ultimately purchased the child were granted bail by the Supreme Court. However, the court noted that unlike the accused, the couple was not involved in kidnapping or selling the child. โThey (couple) had adopted the child on payment of Rs35,000 without following the due process,โ added the court.
๐๐๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ถ๐บ๐ฎ ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ผ๐น๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฒ๐: ๐๐
Denying relief to Gudenti, the HC said that the material on record prima facie indicates that he is involved in a racket of kidnapping and selling of children. โThe footpath dwellers, particularly street children, are the most vulnerable and marginalised section of the society, prone to victimisation and exploitation,โ added the judge.
Rejecting his bail plea, the court observed, โConsidering the gravity of the offence, I am not inclined to exercise the discretion under Section 439 of the Criminal Procedure Code in favour of the applicant who is involved in child trafficking racket.โ
