VZCZCXRO8938
PP RUEHBI RUEHCI
DE RUEHBI #0044/01 0391308
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 081308Z FEB 10
FM AMCONSUL MUMBAI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7725
INFO RUEHBI/DTS MUMBAI PRIORITY
RUEHCG/AMCONSUL CHENNAI PRIORITY 2213
RUEHCI/AMCONSUL KOLKATA PRIORITY 2000
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI PRIORITY 8935
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHINGTON DC
RUEHBI/AMCONSUL MUMBAI 2966

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 MUMBAI 000044 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DESK PLEASE PASS TO G/TIP 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV SOCI SMIG KTIP IN PHUM
SUBJECT: MUMBAI'S ANTI-TRAFFICKING COURT REPORTS IMPRESSIVE FIGURE OF 
OVER 81 CONVICTIONS 
 
REF: A. 09 MUMBAI 89 
     ¶B. 09 MUMBAI 305 
     ¶C. 09 MUMBAI 431 
 
¶1. (U)  Summary.  In just over a year of operation, the 
anti-human trafficking court in Mumbai has disposed of a large 
backlog of trafficking cases, and improved the conviction rate 
for traffickers.  In 2009, the court adjudicated 438 cases, and 
recorded convictions in 81 cases, with more than one defendant 
convicted in most cases.  The court also ordered the closure of 
11 brothels.  The transfer of many of Mumbai's trafficking cases 
to a single court has also helped identify trafficking patterns 
and repeat offenders, providing key analysis for law enforcement 
agencies.  India would benefit from more urban anti-trafficking 
courts like Mumbai's which has made an impressive impact on 
enforcing anti-trafficking legislation in one of India's biggest 
cities.  End Summary. 
 
 
 
Anti-Trafficking Court Established 
 
-------------- 
 
 
 
¶2. (U) The anti-human trafficking court (ATC) was established in 
Mumbai in August 2008 to hear criminal cases under the Immoral 
Trafficking Prevention Act (ITPA).  The Act criminalizes a 
number of prostitution and trafficking-relating activities, 
including living on the proceeds of the prostitution of another 
person, procuring or taking a person for prostitution, detaining 
a person in a location where prostitution is carried out, and 
public solicitation.  Judge Swati Chauhan is the sole judge of 
this new court. 
 
 
 
2009 Statistics Show Impressive Conviction Rates 
 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
 
 
¶3. (U) Chauhan told Congenoff that at the beginning of 2009, her 
docket included 805 cases.  Over the course of the year, 238 new 
cases were filed in her court.  As of January 2010, she had 
resolved 438 cases.  Chauhan reported that the court secured 
convictions of pimps, touts or other traffickers in 81 cases. 
The court records data per case, not per defendant, Chauhan 
explained, and often two or more defendants were convicted per 
case.  Of the cases resolved, 183 were closed without 
prosecution, often where the police were not able to produce or 
locate witnesses or defendants.  Cases in which the defendant 
had absconded, such as a case from 1983 where a brothel keeper 
fled back to Nepal, were closed under section 258 of the 
Criminal Procedure Code which allows charges to be re-filed once 
the missing evidence or witnesses can be produced.  Many of the 
closed cases involved solicitation charges against trafficked 
women under section 8 of the ITPA.  In these cases, Chauhan 
allowed the women to plead guilty and pay a fine of 100 rupees 
(USD 2), which saves them the expense of hiring attorneys for 
multiple court appearances and facing potential jail time.  The 
anti-trafficking court also ordered 11 brothels seized and 
closed.  (Comment:  The police, especially those who have 
attended anti-human trafficking courses, have been using section 
8 less frequently in recent years.  The Indian cabinet's 
proposed amendments to ITPA also include deletion of the 
section.  End comment). 
 
 
 
¶4. (U) With the backlog of old cases virtually eliminated, 
Chauhan predicted that judgments in ITPA cases would continue to 
rise.  She reported that in December 2009 she disposed of 30 
cases, her highest monthly record so far.  Chauhan noted that 
many cases involve multiple defendants, only a few of whom are 
involved in ITPA violations, leading to high acquittal numbers. 
In one case, police raided a bar and arrested 168 people, 
regardless of culpability, resulting in 152 acquittals.  Chauhan 
told Congenoff that she had counseled the police to make arrests 
more judiciously.  Overall, she and the anti-trafficking NGO 
International Justice Mission (IJM) praised the Mumbai police 
for its anti-trafficking efforts.  Chauhan said that the police 
initiated 90 percent of the anti-trafficking court's cases, with 
 
MUMBAI 00000044  002 OF 003 
 
 
only ten percent stemming from NGOs and civil society groups. 
 
 
 
 
Conviction Data for Trafficking Cases Elusive 
 
--------------- 
 
 
 
¶5. (U) Statistics from the anti-trafficking court reflect only a 
subset of all anti-trafficking cases in Mumbai. Only arrests 
made under the ITPA within the Mumbai city limits go before the 
court.  Chauhan explained several other reasons why her court 
handles only a portion of the trafficking arrests across Mumbai. 
 First, she noted that where a more serious crime is also 
involved -- such as kidnapping, weapons charges, murder or rape 
-- the case must be transferred to the higher Sessions Court. 
In one case, for example, the defendant was accused of drugging 
and taking an 18-year old victim to Mumbai from Bangalore. 
Chauhan raised the charges to include kidnapping and wrongful 
restraint, and transferred the case to the higher court. 
Chauhan transferred 22 such cases to the higher court in 2009. 
(Note:  IJM reported convictions in two other cases tried in 
Mumbai Sessions Courts rather than the in the anti-trafficking 
court:  (1) the Sewri District Sessions Court convicted four 
traffickers in December 2009 and (2) the Churchgate Sessions 
Court convicted four traffickers in December 2009. End Note.) 
Second, courts at the level of the anti-trafficking court may 
only issue sentences of up to seven years, while the ITPA 
authorizes sentences of up to life imprisonment for certain 
serious offenses.  Where the case appears to warrant a longer 
sentence, Chauhan refers the case to the Sessions Court. 
 
 
 
¶6. (U) Chauhan noted that in many human trafficking cases, the 
police are not able to meet the procedural requirements of the 
ITPA, and choose instead to make arrests for public nuisance or 
other charges under the Bombay Police Act.  ITPA requires a 
senior police official, such as an Assistant Commissioner of 
Police (ACP), and an independent witness to be present at the 
time of the arrest.  If neither the ACP nor the independent 
witness is a female, a female police officer must also be 
present.  Chauhan said it is often very difficult for police to 
bring the necessary parties together to make an arrest under 
ITPA in the middle of the night, which is when most trafficking 
raids are made.  The rationale behind ITPA's procedural 
requirements is to prevent corruption by lower level officers 
who are often more susceptible to manipulation or pressure from 
traffickers.  Further, Chauhan explained, under Indian law only 
senior ranking officers may enter a premise after 7:00 p.m. 
without an arrest warrant.  Despite these obstacles, Mumbai 
police still filed 238 new cases before the ATC in 2009. 
 
 
 
Specialized Trafficking Court Helps Bust Trafficking Networks 
 
--------------- 
 
 
 
¶7. (U) According to Chauhan, the centralization of 
trafficking-related cases has allowed her to piece together 
evidence from different cases to uncover wider trafficking 
networks, which has significantly aided prosecution efforts. 
For instance, she noticed that in several cases involving 
call-girls from former Soviet Union countries, the same vehicle 
was used to take the girls to the customer.  In the case of 
State v. Gopal Mundal, Chauhan linked together 55 traffickers in 
seemingly different cases by tying them to the same ring, the 
same car, and operations from the same three premises.  She 
identified a total of six women serving as call-girls and 
ordered their return to their home countries.  In addition, she 
directed the police to charge the driver, the owner of the 
vehicle, and the owner of the premises used for prostitution. 
Chauhan's information directly helped police to identify and 
disrupt a network of traffickers operating in New Delhi and 
Mumbai. 
 
 
 
 
MUMBAI 00000044  003 OF 003 
 
 
Challenges Remain 
 
----------------- 
 
 
 
¶8. (U) According to Chauhan, the arrest and conviction record 
could be even higher if the state and central government had a 
unified database enabling law enforcement to look for patterns 
and prior convictions of traffickers across jurisdictions.  She 
said that traffickers caught in Mumbai often move their 
operations to Thane, outside Mumbai, or to New Delhi. 
 
She also explained that in cases with foreign victims or those 
from other Indian states, interpreters and translators must be 
present, often causing delays in prosecuting the case.  Despite 
the best efforts of the police and courts, however, arrests 
alone have little deterrent effect on traffickers, Chauhan 
noted.  In India, the accused has the right to be released on 
bail pending trial and appeals, and every defendant convicted of 
a crime has an automatic right of appeal to the Sessions Court 
and above. 
 
 
 
Comment 
 
---------------- 
 
 
 
¶9. (U) As Chauhan's experience makes clear, a dedicated 
anti-trafficking court is able to make a significant impact in 
bringing traffickers to justice.  With 81 convictions in one 
year, Mumbai's anti-trafficking court has demonstrated its 
intent to fully prosecute trafficking charges.  In an effort to 
better understand the total number of convictions for 
trafficking related offenses in Mumbai, post is working to 
obtain data from the Bombay High Court on the number of appeals 
filed from convictions under ITPA, other related penal statutes, 
and the Bonded Labor Act in 2009.  This data should enable post 
to assess trafficking convictions involving higher crimes 
outside Chauhan's jurisdiction, convictions by other Magistrate 
Courts across the state, and forced-labor convictions. 
FOLMSBEE