Girl trafficked to Bangladesh rescued after Calcutta High Court intervention; Articles 32, 226 lifeblood of Constitution, says HC

A 16-year-old girl who was kidnapped and trafficked to Bangladesh was rescued after timely intervention by the Calcutta High Court [Iti Pandit v. Union of India]..The girl who was taken to Rangpur in Bangladesh, was recovered and brought to India and reunited with her parents, prompting the High Court to stress the importance of the powers of Constitutional courts under Articles 32 and 226 of the Constitution."The writ jurisdiction of the Constitutional Courts, under Article 32 and Article 226 forms the lifeblood of the Constitution as it effectuates and enforces the Fundamental Rights of citizens, in the absence of which, the existence of those rights would be in vain. The acknowledgement of this power and responsibility was further solidified by the inclusion of these provisions under the Basic Structure of the Constitution as per L Chandra Kumar vs. Union of India," the Court said.Single-judge Justice Rajasekhar Mantha was dealing with a petition filed by the mother of the victim girl, seeking her to be repatriated back to India from Bangladesh. The Telegraph reported, that the girl was allegedly kidnapped by a Bangladeshi infiltrator and taken to Rangpur, where she was kept in a hideout. ."The writ Jurisdiction of the Constitutional Courts, under Article 32 and Article 226 forms the lifeblood of the Constitution.Calcutta High Court .The Court had asked the State to take all measures possible to bring the girl back to her country. Towards that end, it had passed orders to various authorities which eventually led to her rescue by police in Bangladesh and her eventual repatriation to India.When the case was taken up today, the Court was informed of the same.The Court in its order proceeded to thank counsel for the Central government and State government."This Court would also like to record its appreciation and gratitude towards the efforts put in by the High Commission of India at Dhaka and High Commission of Bangladesh at Kolkata in helping with the recovery of the victim girl," the order added..The Court noted that human trafficking inflicts a particularly devastating blow to the life and liberty of victims by violating the rights enshrined in Article 21 of the Constitution.However, territorial and other limitations cane be easily defeated in the face of an overwhelming determination of find suitable solutions, the Court said.State counsel Srisanya Bandhopadhyay submitted that this might be the first time he has seen exercise of jurisdiction under Article 226 to recover a trafficked victim from a foreign country.The Court then emphasised on using Article 226 powers to the fundamental right under Article 21."More importantly, the writ jurisdiction of the High Courts being wider than that of the Supreme Court places on its shoulders added responsibilities under the constitutional scheme. This Court under Article 226 is thus bound by an indispensable duty to exercise all the powers vested on itto ensure the exercise of all possible efforts to protect the Fundamental Rights of citizens," the order said.The exercise of jurisdiction under Article 226 must be used in every new and ingenious manner to protect and afford the remedies under Article 21, the order added."This Court hopes that this will set a precedent for future cases where Courts or other authorities feel helpless and tied down by such similar difficulties. In the words of two famous people, 'It always seems impossible until its done,', and 'Perseverance is not a long race: it is many short races one after the other'," the judge said..Advocates Susmita Saha Dutta and Niladri Saha appeared for the petitioner. Additional Solicitor General YJ Dastoor and advocates Chandreyi Alam (Gupta), and Runu Mukherjee represented the Central government. Advocates Sirsanya Bandopadhyay and Tapati Samanta appeared for the State..[Read Order]