Telangana judicial colloquium calls for coordinated response to trafficking
Judges, police officers and experts at a Telangana judicial colloquium said rescuing victims of human trafficking and bonded labour was not enough without rehabilitation and long-term support. Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh called for departments to work together, while participants highlighted re-exploitation and intergenerational debt.
Judges, police officers and experts in Telangana have called for coordinated action and sustained rehabilitation to prevent survivors of human trafficking and bonded labour from being exploited again. The issue was discussed at a one-day judicial colloquium in Secunderabad on Saturday. The Telangana State Judicial Academy organised the event with International Justice Mission as its technical partner.
Telangana High Court Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh said authorities needed to work in tandem and examine the larger picture rather than treating cases in isolation. He called for convergence among the departments involved. The colloquium brought together 255 participants from the judiciary, police, government departments, prosecution, district administration and civil society.
Technical experts and survivors also attended. Discussions focused on the period after a victim is rescued. Participants said survivors could remain vulnerable to re-exploitation without rehabilitation and sustained support.
They also noted that lengthy legal proceedings could require survivors to repeatedly revisit traumatic experiences. Telangana State Judicial Academy president Moushumi Bhattacharya said bonded labour had no place in a civilised society and rejected the practice of people working without wages or minimum wages. Telangana Police Academy director Abhilasha Bisht highlighted the intergenerational nature of bonded labour.
She said families trapped in debt could pass the burden to subsequent generations, including young children. Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty CEO Divya Devarajan recalled a rescue operation she took part in as a sub-collector in 2013, when a five-year-old child was among those found in bonded labour. High Court judges B.
Vijaysen Reddy and T. Madhavi Devi, Women Safety Wing in-charge DIG Viswajit Kampati and IJM’s Loretta Babu also addressed the gathering. The discussions included the challenges of labour trafficking and possible remedial measures.
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