The Supreme Court on Monday sought the Central government's response to a public interest litigation (PIL) petition raising concerns that children, especially minor girls, are being trafficked and sexually exploited through orchestras, dance bars, spas, massage parlours and similar establishments [Just Rights for Children Alliance v Union of India & Ors.].
A Bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Vipul M Pancholi noted that the petition raised a serious issue.
"This is a serious issue. We will issue notice," said the Court.
The petition was filed by Just Rights for Children Alliance, a coalition of over 270 civil society organisations working on issues relating to child trafficking and exploitation.
The plea submitted that rescue operations conducted between March 2025 and May 2026 led to the recovery of 212 minors from orchestras and dance groups and 12 minors from spas and massage parlours across several States.
“The investigations and rescue operations conducted in several parts of the country have revealed that orchestra groups, dance bars, nautanki troupes, massage parlours, spas, and salons have increasingly become clandestine fronts for organized crime syndicates, engaged in the commercial sexual exploitation of minors, especially girls below the age of eighteen years,” stated the petition.
The petition alleges that many of the rescued children had been trafficked interstate from Bihar, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Assam and even from Nepal.
During today's hearing, Senior Advocate HS Phoolka appeared for the petitioner organisation and submitted that children were being used in spas, massage parlours and similar establishments under the guise of employment and entertainment activities.
The petition seeks directions to the Union government to amend the Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 (CALPRA) to classify such activities as hazardous occupations, thereby prohibiting the employment of all persons below 18 years in these sectors.
According to the plea, existing legal provisions have created a regulatory gap that is being exploited by trafficking networks and organised crime syndicates.
“The continuing exclusion of such establishments and activities from the category of hazardous occupations under CALPRA has created a serious enforcement vacuum, enabling organised trafficking networks and exploitative establishments to operate under the guise of entertainment and wellness services. In the absence of an express statutory prohibition, children rescued from such establishments remain vulnerable to retrafficking and repeated exploitation,” contended the plea.
It argued that while CALPRA prohibits employment of adolescents in hazardous occupations listed under Part A of the Schedule to the Act, several establishments such as massage parlours, gymnasiums and recreational centres continue to remain in Part B, which permits employment subject to regulation.
The petition sought transfer of these activities from Part B to Part A of the Schedule, contending that they inherently expose children to trafficking, sexual exploitation, violence and forced labour.
The plea further noted that the Court has earlier intervened in such child welfare matters. In this regard, the plea recounted the Supreme Court’s 2011 judgment in Bachpan Bachao Andolan v Union of India, where employment of children in circuses was prohibited on the ground that such occupations were inherently exploitative.
The petitioners also sought directions to the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) to formulate a standard operating procedure for the rescue and rehabilitation of children found in such establishments.
The Court today issued notices to the Union Government, the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Ministry of Law and Justice, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), seeking their response.
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