<h2>Overview</h2>
<p>The <span class="key-term" data-definition="Supreme Court — India's apex judicial body, final interpreter of the Constitution and source of binding jurisprudence (GS2: Polity).">Supreme Court</span> on <strong>May 29, 2026</strong> delivered a landmark judgment that creates a pan‑India <span class="key-term" data-definition="Victim Protection Plan — a comprehensive framework covering rescue, identification, rehabilitation, prosecution and coordination to protect trafficking survivors (GS2: Polity).">Victim Protection Plan</span>. The bench, comprising <strong>Justice J.B. Pardiwala</strong> and <strong>Justice R. Mahadevan</strong>, invoked <span class="key-term" data-definition="Articles 32 & 142 — Constitutional provisions empowering the Supreme Court to enforce fundamental rights (Art 32) and to pass binding orders for enforcement of its judgments (Art 142) (GS2: Polity).">Articles 32 and 142</span> of the Constitution to issue binding directions.</p>
<h3>Key Developments</h3>
<ul>
<li>Definition of trafficking based on the three‑element test of the <span class="key-term" data-definition="Palermo Protocol — United Nations protocol defining human trafficking and outlining preventive, protective and prosecutorial measures (GS4: Ethics/International Relations).">Palermo Protocol</span>: action, means and exploitation.</li>
<li>Consent is the decisive factor distinguishing trafficking from voluntary adult sex work; police must conduct a threshold inquiry before coercive action.</li>
<li>Rescue operations under <span class="key-term" data-definition="Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act (ITPA) — 1956 law criminalising trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation; provides rescue and prosecution mechanisms (GS2: Polity).">Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act</span> must target exploitation, not criminalise consensual sex workers.</li>
<li>Integration of the <span class="key-term" data-definition="Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act — 2015 legislation governing care, protection and rehabilitation of children in conflict with law (GS2: Polity).">Juvenile Justice Act</span> and <span class="key-term" data-definition="POCSO Act — Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, which safeguards children against sexual abuse (GS2: Polity).">POCSO Act</span> into the anti‑trafficking regime.</li>
<li>Minimum standards for shelter homes, mental‑health support, vocational training, compensation, legal aid, witness protection and reintegration are mandated.</li>
<li>The Court declined to set up a separate Organized Crime Investigative Agency, stating existing statutes are sufficient.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Important Facts</h3>
<p>The judgment links anti‑trafficking measures to <span class="key-term" data-definition="Article 23 — Constitutional clause prohibiting traffic in human beings and forced labour; safeguards personal liberty (GS2: Polity).">Article 23</span>, calling trafficking a "direct assault on constitutional dignity". I
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