If the victim or their family agreed to the arrangement, it isn't trafficking.

The law explicitly states that a victim's consent is immaterial — trafficking can still be proven if force, fraud, coercion, or inducement (like payment) was used to obtain that agreement.

Trafficking only means moving someone across borders or long distances.

The law covers recruiting, transporting, harbouring, transferring, or even just receiving a person for exploitation — this can happen within the same city or even the same building.

Trafficking only refers to sexual exploitation.

Explanation 1 defines exploitation broadly to include forced labour, slavery-like practices, servitude, forced begging, and forced organ removal, not just sexual exploitation.

Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023

Section 143

Trafficking of person

(1) Whoever, for the purpose of exploitation recruits, transports, harbours, transfers, or receives a person or persons, by—§

(a) using threats; or§

(b) using force, or any other form of coercion; or§

(d) by practising fraud, or deception; or§

(e) by abuse of power; or§

(f) by inducement, including the giving or receiving of payments or benefits, in order to achieve the consent of any person having control over the person recruited, transported, harboured, transferred or received, commits the offence of trafficking. Explanation 1.—The expression “exploitation” shall include any act of physical exploitation or any form of sexual exploitation, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude, beggary or forced removal of organs. Explanation 2.—The consent of the victim is immaterial in determination of the offence of trafficking.§

(2) Whoever commits the offence of trafficking shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than seven years, but which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.§

(3) Where the offence involves the trafficking of more than one person, it shall be punishable with rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than ten years but which may extend to imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to fine.§

(4) Where the offence involves the trafficking of a child, it shall be punishable with rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than ten years, but which may extend to imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to fine.§

(5) Where the offence involves the trafficking of more than one child, it shall be punishable with rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than fourteen years, but which may extend to imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to fine.§

(6) If a person is convicted of the offence of trafficking of a child on more than one occasion, then such person shall be punished with imprisonment for life, which shall mean imprisonment for the remainder of that person’s natural life, and shall also be liable to fine.§

(7) When a public servant or a police officer is involved in the trafficking of any person then, such public servant or police officer shall be punished with imprisonment for life, which shall mean imprisonment for the remainder of that person’s natural life, and shall also be liable to fine.§

Why this exists

India strengthened its anti-trafficking law in response to the 2013 Justice Verma Committee report, formed after the 2012 Delhi gang-rape case, which highlighted gaps in dealing with human trafficking, especially of women and children, for sexual exploitation, forced labour, and organ removal. The 2013 Criminal Law Amendment first introduced a comprehensive trafficking provision (Section 370 IPC), replacing the older, narrower law that mainly targeted trafficking for prostitution. The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 carries this provision forward as Section 143, largely preserving its structure and intent while renumbering it as part of India's new criminal code.

How courts read it

Under the predecessor provision (Section 370 IPC), courts consistently held that the victim's apparent consent is irrelevant once any of the listed means (force, fraud, coercion, abuse of power, etc.) is shown, echoing the same principle in child sexual abuse law. Courts have also read 'exploitation' expansively to include bonded labour, forced marriage-linked exploitation, and organized begging rackets, not just commercial sexual exploitation. Judgments have emphasized that trafficking is a process-based crime — the offence is complete at recruitment or transport stage itself, even before actual exploitation occurs, because the law criminalizes the entire trafficking chain to make prosecution effective at every link.

Common misconceptions

Myth: If the victim or their family agreed to the arrangement, it isn't trafficking.
Fact: The law explicitly states that a victim's consent is immaterial — trafficking can still be proven if force, fraud, coercion, or inducement (like payment) was used to obtain that agreement.
Myth: Trafficking only means moving someone across borders or long distances.
Fact: The law covers recruiting, transporting, harbouring, transferring, or even just receiving a person for exploitation — this can happen within the same city or even the same building.
Myth: Trafficking only refers to sexual exploitation.
Fact: Explanation 1 defines exploitation broadly to include forced labour, slavery-like practices, servitude, forced begging, and forced organ removal, not just sexual exploitation.