The Supreme Court on Monday sought responses from the Centre, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights and the National Human Rights Commission on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking a complete ban on the employment of children and adolescents in orchestras, dance troupes, spas, massage parlours and similar establishments.
The petition alleged that such sectors were increasingly being used as fronts for child trafficking, sexual exploitation and forced labour.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi issued notices to the Union ministries of labour and law and justice.
Senior advocate H S Phoolka, appearing for the Just Rights for Children Alliance (JRCA), told the court that minor girls as young as 10 years old were allegedly being employed in orchestras and dance bars.
He also informed the bench that some states had already fixed 18 years as the minimum age for employment in spas and massage parlours.
Taking note of the submissions, the bench termed the issue “serious” and sought replies from both the NCPCR and NHRC.
The PIL has asked the Centre to amend the Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 (CALPRA) by including employment or performance of minors in orchestras, dance bars, dance troupes, spas, salons, massage parlours and similar establishments under Part A of the hazardous occupations schedule.
If included under Part A, employment of adolescents between 14 and 18 years in such sectors would be completely prohibited rather than merely regulated.
The petition argued that existing legal provisions contain a major enforcement gap. While massage parlours and spas are currently listed under Part B, where adolescent labour is regulated, orchestra and dance troupe sectors are not included at all in the hazardous occupations schedule.
According to the plea, traffickers exploit this legal ambiguity by presenting the commercial sexual exploitation of minors as legitimate employment opportunities in entertainment and wellness industries.
The petition further alleged that these establishments often function as fronts for organised trafficking networks operating across multiple states.
Citing rescue data between March 2025 and May 2026, the plea claimed that 212 minors were rescued from orchestras and dance groups in Bihar and West Bengal, while 12 minors were rescued from spas and massage parlours in Delhi and Rajasthan. Several victims were reportedly as young as 12 years old.
The petition also alleged that children from economically vulnerable families were lured with promises of dance training, glamorous jobs or film opportunities before allegedly being sold to operators for sums ranging from ₹10,000 to ₹50,000.
It further claimed that many victims were forced into debt bondage and made to perform before intoxicated audiences in sexually provocative clothing.
The plea additionally referred to a 2023 report by the Bharatiya Institute of Research and Development (BIRD), which stated that over 44% of identified trafficking victims in India were minors and that spas were frequently used as fronts for disguised sexual exploitation.
The petitioner argued that unless the law is amended to explicitly prohibit employment of children and adolescents in such sectors, enforcement agencies would continue facing difficulties in prosecuting offenders.
