A woman from Meghalaya who is lodged in a Delhi jail for nearly two years for alleged human trafficking has been granted bail by the Supreme Court.
A bench of Chief Justice N V Ramana, Justice Surya Kant, and Justice Hima Kohli granted bail to 21-year-old woman on the ground that despite a lapse of almost two years her trial has not commenced. The top court also said that she cannot be kept in confinement indefinitely.
“Having heard counsel for the parties and taking into consideration the fact that the petitioner has suffered incarceration for a period of 18 months and has also delivered a child during custody, we deem it to be a fit case to grant her bail. The petitioner is, accordingly, directed to be enlarged on bail on terms and conditions to be imposed by the trial court. The special leave petitions stand disposed of accordingly,” the Supreme Court said in its order passed on December 17.
The woman was pregnant at the time of her arrest and had been in jail since February 2020. She delivered a male child in jail.
Senior lawyer Salman Khurshid and another lawyer T K Nayak represented the woman in the Supreme Court.
They said that she herself was brought to Delhi on the pretext of a dignified job and thereafter ruthlessly forced into flesh trade therefore, she is also the victim of the prostitution racket.
The two lawyers also told the Supreme Court that the woman was pregnant at the time of her arrest and had undergone the entire period of pregnancy within prison confinement. Since then, she has delivered a child who is also in jail with her.
Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati appearing for the Delhi government vehemently opposed her petition on the grounds of “the severity and seriousness of the offences” alleged against her.
The human trafficking case against the woman was registered at Malvviya Nagar Police Station, New Delhi under Sections 366, 368 and 370 of Indian Penal Code.
