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Supreme Court of India

Prajwala v. Union of India.

Neutral citation
Bench J.B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan JJ.
Decided 29 May 2026

INSC stands for INDIAN SUPREME COURT. A neutral citation scheme assigned by the Court itself, so a judgment can be cited without depending on a commercial law reporter. INSC is the neutral citation scheme assigned by the Supreme Court, so a judgment can be cited without depending on a commercial law reporter.

What the Court ordered

In view of the above, and the absence of enacted law to provide for the effective enforcement of the basic human right of gender equality and guarantee against sexual harassment and abuse, more particularly against sexual harassment at workplaces, we lay down the guidelines and norms specified hereinafter for due observance at all workplaces or other institutions, until a legislation is enacted for the purpose.

Judgment, page 175

In brief

Prajwala, an anti-trafficking NGO, filed a writ petition in 2004 highlighting the absence of any framework governing the pre-rescue, rescue, post-rescue and rehabilitation stages for women and children trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation. That petition was disposed of in December 2015 on the Union's affidavit undertaking (a) that the MHA would set up an Organised Crime Investigation Agency and (b) that an Inter-Ministerial Committee under the MWCD would draft comprehensive anti-trafficking legislation containing a victim protection protocol.…

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