The Supreme Court’s decision in Prajwala v. Union of India is a landmark ruling which locates the right to rehabilitation of trafficked sex workers in the Indian Constitution along with due recognition of victims’ agency in decisions relating to their future with adequate support from the state. At the same time, the ruling also upholds the rights of adult voluntary sex workers to not be subject to carceral models of forced rehabilitation.
Professor Prabha Kotiswaran
04 June 2026
King's academic's research cited in landmark ruling by the Supreme Court of India
Professor Prabha Kotiswaran’s work has been cited in a major judgment by the Supreme Court of India on trafficking and sex work, marking a significant moment for the evolving legal landscape of sex workers’ rights.
A landmark ruling by the Supreme Court of India has referenced research by Professor of Law and Social Justice Prabha Kotiswaran in a recent judgment on trafficking and sex work. The decision addresses key questions in transnational criminal law and signals an important shift in India’s judicial approaches to sex work.
Professor Kotiswaran’s book Revisiting the Law and Governance of Human Trafficking, Forced Labour and Modern Slavery (Cambridge 2017) and her monograph Dangerous Sex, Invisible Labor: Sex Work and the Law in India (Princeton 2011) were both cited in the ruling. The decision is expected to have a substantial impact on the legal landscape surrounding sex work and the rights of sex workers in India.
The judgment highlights several critical issues, including the distinction between consensual sex work by adults and the trafficking of women and girls, the need to adopt a human rights-based approach to anti-trafficking law and policy, and the importance of rehabilitation procedures that respect victims’ autonomy and choices.
The 298-page judgment sets an important precedent for judicial practice in India. It also establishes guidelines for a Victim Protection Plan using the Supreme Court’s powers under Art. 142 of the Constitution to set out guidelines in the absence of legislation (akin to the landmark Vishaka judgment on sexual harassment).
This ruling represents a step forward in protecting the rights of adult voluntary sex workers, an area Professor Kotiswaran has researched extensively, including through the EU-funded Laws of Social Reproduction (LoSR) project.
The LoSR project examined women’s reproductive labour in India, with sex work being a central area of focus. Professor Kotiswaran and her research team conducted fieldwork in India’s red-light districts, engaging directly with sex workers to better understand how existing laws affect their lives.
This recent ruling indicates a move towards interventions that Professor Kotiswaran’s work has advocated for, aimed at reducing social marginalisation, isolation and stigma, and strengthening the case for the decriminalisation of sex work in India.
Professor Prabha Kotiswaran’s main research areas include criminal law, transnational criminal law, feminist legal studies and the sociology of law.
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Professor of Law & Social Justice