GIRLS ARE STILL TREATED AS COMMODITIES IN 21ST CENTURY: BOMBAY HIGH COURT IN THE CASE OF A WOMAN ACCUSED OF BUYING A 1-YEAR OLD GIRL We are in the 21st century, still there are incidents wherein the girls are treated as commodity and they have been used as a medium for financial benefits. It is highly objectionable to the principles of morality and human rights that a girl of one year is being sold by the natural mother. The ‘sale’ took place because the husband of the biological mother was behind bars and they were in need of money. Justice SM Modak expressed “great pains” that even in the 21st century, there are incidents where girls are treated as commodities for financial benefits. After the sale, the biological mother had managed to repay the loan to the applicant, and sought the return her child. The applicant woman and her husband, however, refused to return the child, after which a complaint was lodged against them. The couple was booked under Section 370 (trafficking of persons) of the Indian Penal Code, Section 81 (prohibition on the sale or acquisition of children for any reason) of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 and Section 39 (money lending business without license) of the Maharashtra Money-Lending (Regulation) Act, 2014. The applicant moved the High Court seeking bail in the case. The Court granted bail, noting that the applicant had two children of her own. Reddy and Reddy Law Firm is one of the popular law firm in Pune which handle variety types of legal matters across personal and corporate space.