Noting that human trafficking has assumed a gigantic form with its tentacles expanding in a rapid manner, a report submitted in the Supreme Court has lamented that babies are traded like chattels.In her report submitted to the top court, senior advocate and amicus curiae Aparna Bhat highlighted the problem of emerging trafficking networks allegedly exploiting gaps in the regulatory framework for child trafficking through Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) and surrogacy centres.Maintaining that the existing framework was unable to protect children from being trafficked despite penal laws in force, she highlighted the absence of any Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to prevent trafficking through ART and surrogacy centres.While the Centre has constituted the national Board as mandated under Section 3 of ART Act; the national Registry as mandated under Section 9 of the ART Act has been made operational with effect from April 22, 2022 to act as the central database of all ART clinics, banks and surrogacy clinics in the country; state Boards and appropriate authorities envisaged under the ART Act, there was no SOP specifically aimed at preventing child trafficking through ART and surrogacy facilities, Bhat pointed out.“There is no SOP currently existing for inter-state coordination in cases involving missing and trafficked children,” she further submitted.Although the regulatory framework under the ART Act and Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021 contained detailed provisions regarding infrastructure and medical standards, it did not specifically address trafficking risks, she submitted in her report.“In conclusion, it is indeed a sad state of affairs that babies are traded like chattels and are abandoned for diverse reasons. The existing framework is unable to protect the children from being trafficked despite penal laws in force. A roadmap to prevent trafficking, a rehabilitation plan with adequate resources, and a SOP to prevent trafficking in the ART/ surrogacy centres is a dire need,” Bhat told the top court.She highlighted alarming trafficking trends reflected in the NCRB’s 2024 report that showed over 6,000 trafficking cases and a 7.8% increase in missing children reports as 98,375 children were reported missing in 2024 and the cumulative number of children who remained untraced was 1,47,175.A bench of Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice K Viswanathan — which has been monitoring compliance with its directions on the child trafficking issue — asked Additional Solicitor General Archana Dave Pathak to respond to Bhat’s report by August 19 — the next date of hearing.“The crime of trafficking has evolved over the years with people being trafficked for various purposes. The initially known and documented form of sex trafficking and trafficking for labour has now expanded to other forms of trafficking where humans are trafficked for diverse purposes like marriage, organ transplant, begging and in the last few years, forced criminality,” Bhat submitted.“It is clear that there is an acknowledgment of the magnitude of trafficking, and the Union of India has shown intent to address the problem of trafficking. However, there are significant gaps in the manner in which both the legislation and the implementation framework are able to address these issues. There is no mention of any process or provision for impact assessment or audit/review of the existing mechanisms and steps taken by the executive to prevent child trafficking in any of the affidavits submitted by the states and the Union territories,” she submitted.She highlighted the need “to identify existing schemes from where the resources can be drawn from and recommend additional resources if required”.In a report submitted to the top court she highlighted the need “to identify existing schemes from where the resources can be drawn from and recommend additional resources if required”.