Delhi High court seeks numbers of registered placement agencies in Capital

The Delhi high court on Wednesday directed the Delhi government to state the number of placement agencies that had been registered and given licences in compliance with its earlier orders in 2010 and 2014.

Justice Najmi Waziri asked Ramesh Singh, standing counsel of the Delhi government, to provide the information within 10 days and fixed the matter for April 15.

The court was hearing a contempt petition filed by NGO Bachpan Bachao Andolan against the Delhi government’s alleged failure to register placement agencies employing children. The NGO had said “unregulated functioning of placement agencies” leads to trafficking.

Appearing for the NGO, senior advocate HS Phoolka told the court the government had failed to implement earlier orders passed by the court in 2010 and 2014, fixing the responsibilities of each state agency to control trafficking.

The court asked the Delhi government to provide details of the placement agencies that had been registered and fixed a deadline of 10 days.

The plea filed through advocate Prabhsahay Kaur alleged that due to the absence of a regulating framework, placement agencies specifically employ children because they are cheaper and can be easily exploited.

It said the non-implementation of the directions is “fuelling a business that thrives on human trafficking by unregulated placement agencies across the national capital”.

“Being unregistered, these placement agencies are outside the net of the concerned authorities and hence, are not answerable to anyone unless apprehended,” the contempt plea said.