Thota Rajesh, Vs The State of Telangana — Telangana HC (2025) — LawSathi Research

Thota Rajesh, Vs The State of Telangana — Telangana HC (2025) — LawSathi Research

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

Criminal Petition allowed; proceedings against petitioners/Accused Nos. 5 and 6 in P.R.C. No. 105 of 2024 on the file of the learned XI Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate at Secunderabad quashed; pending miscellaneous applications, if any, shall stand closed.

Issue for consideration

Whether the allegation that petitioners/Accused Nos. 5 and 6 were customers of the brothel constitutes offences under Sections 3, 4 and 5 of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956. +2 more

Court's answer

Sections 3, 4 and 5 of the Act deal with keeping/allowing premises to be used as a brothel, living on the earnings of prostitution, and procuring, inducing or taking a woman or girl for prostitution; there are no allegations against the petitioners of running a brothel, living on earnings of prostitution or procuring a girl for prostitution, their sole allegation being that they are customers; therefore the allegation does not constitute offences under Sections 3, 4, 5 of the Act.

Ratio / Principle

Under Sections 370 and 370(4) IPC, a person can be termed a 'trafficked person' only where threat, force or any form of coercion, abduction, practising fraud or deception, abuse of power, or inducement is used.

Key takeaways

Even according to the prosecution, the victim was doing prostitution for the sake of money.ratio¶54
At the stage of filing of the FIR, during investigation, and through the averments of the charge sheet, the police could not put forth any material to substantiate that the petitioners had knowledge and/or reason to believe that the women were trafficked for the purpose of prostitution; therefore the ingredients required for constituting the offence under Section 370(A)(2) IPC are not made out against the petitioners.ratio¶86

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Telangana High Court (Smt. Justice Juwadisridevi, 24-02-2025) allowed a Criminal Petition under Section 528 BNSS by Accused Nos. 5 and 6 - found as customers when police raided Flat No. 303, HSC Pride Apartments, Begumpet, on information of a running brothel - seeking quashment of proceedings in PRC No. 105 of 2024 (XI Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Secunderabad) under Sections 370, 370(A)/(4) IPC and Sections 3, 4, 5 of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956. Held: (i) Sections 3-5 of the Act punish keeping a brothel, living on earnings of prostitution and procuring/inducing women; the sole allegation against the petitioners was that they were customers, so those sections are not attracted; (ii) a person is 'trafficked' only where threat, force, coercion, abduction, fraud, deception, abuse of power or inducement is used, and even per the prosecution the victim was doing prostitution for money; (iii) no material at the FIR, investigation or charge-sheet stage showed the petitioners knew or had reason to believe the women were trafficked, so Section 370(A)(2) IPC ingredients fail; (iv) continuation amounts to abuse of process; proceedings quashed; pending miscellaneous applications closed. No precedents cited.

IN THE^{HIGH COURT FOR THE STATE OF TELANGANA AT HYDERABAD}

MONDAY,^{THE TWENTY FouRrH Dly--gfFEBRUARY} rWO TUOUSNND^{ANDTWENTY FIVE}

PRESENT

THE HONOURABLE^{SMT JUSTICE JUWADISRIDEVI}

CRIMIN ALP^{ETITIONNO:26 43oF 2025}

Between: I Thota Raiesh,^{S/o. Thota Sambaiah' 4gu9.S1 years'Occ Business' R/o 105'} ' i;ir'ii nJ3i,i,=ii"v,-p.j;;;s*' Errasadd-a'^Hvderabad

Srikanth^Varma @^{Vegesna SrikanthVarma'.S/o'Kasi VenkataRamaraiu'} Aoed 3'l veas' Occ^{-Pvt'Employee' Arc 'Z+--SD' PenmetsaVari Veedhi'} riXi."r"n"i*,^{West Godavari District}

...Petitioners^{/ Accused Nos' 5 and 6}

AND

*to r' H^{is h co u rt}

oJ.

' Ilif,^{;il: fi',lEi?tn,ll ?i [i!'f 3:'TA'} $: S.in'f '^3:?*

2.sriR.Jayachander,sub-lnspectorofPolice,P'S'Begumpet'secunderabad

.-Respondents^{/ De-factoComplainant}

Petition^{under Section 528 of BNSS prayingthat in the circumstances} statedintheMemorandumofGroundsofCriminalPetition'theHighCourtmaybe pleased to^{quashthe proceedings against Petitioners/Accused Nos' 5 and 6 in} PRC.No',t05ot2024onthefileoftheHon.bleXlAdditionalChiefMetropolitan Magistrate,^{at Secunderabad'}

l.A. NO:^{20F 2025}

Petition^{under Section 528 of BNSSprayingthat in the circumstances} statedintheMemorandumofGroundsofCriminalPetition,theHighCourtmaybe pleased to stay^{of all further proceedings against Petitioners/Accused Nos 5 and 6} inPRC.No.l0sof2o24onthefileoftheHon.bleXlAdditionalChiefMetropolitan Magistrate,^{at Secunderabad' pending disposalof the CriminalP'etition'}

This Petition^coming on for^{hearing,upon perusing the Memorandum of} and upon^{hearing the arguments of Sri Nageshwar} Grounds^{of CriminalPetition} M/s Disha^{Law Firm for the Petitioners andSri} Rao Pujari,^AdvocateReP' Public^{Prosecutoron behalf of the} Jithender^{Rao Veeramalla' Additional} Respondent^No.'l.

he Court^{made the followingOrder:}

THE HONOURABLE SMT. JUSTICE JUWADISRIDEVI

CRIMINAL PETITION No.2643 ol 2025

ORDER

This Criminal petition is filed by the petitioners_accused Nos.S and 6 to quash the proceedings against them in P R.C.No 105 of 2024 on the file of the learned Xl Additional chief Metroporitan Magistrate at Secunderabad. The offences alleged against the petitioners are under Sections 370, i)70(A) of the lndian Penal Code (for short^,lpC') and 3, 4, 5 of the lmmoral .' Traffic (Prevr:ntion) Act, 1956 (for short ,the Act,).

tJeard tVl/s.Disha Law Firm representecl by Sri Nageshwar tlao pujari, learned counsel for petitioners and Sri Jithender Ra,c Veeramalla, learned Additional public prosecutor for the State

ln brief, the case of the prosecution is that the police, received credible information about running of brothel house and raided the premises of Flat No.303, HSC pride Appartments, Begumpet, Hy,derabad and found that the accused Nos.1 and 2 were organizing brothel house and petitioners_accused Nos.5 and 6 are the customer of the said brothel house.

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Learned^{counsel for petitioners submittedthat the} woman who^{was foundwith petitioners-accusedNos'5 and 6' is} notatraffickedwomanandthepetitionersarenothingtodowith the alleged offences.^{The ingredientsof the offenceunder} Sections 370,^{370(4)of IPC and 3, 4 and 5 of the Act does not} attract to the^{present case on hand. Thereby,he prayed to quash} the criminal^{proceedings against the petitioners'}

Learned^{Additional PublicProsecutorfor the State} submitted that^{there are specificallegationsagainst 'ihe} petitioners and the^{truth or otherwise would comeout only after} conducting^{full-fledged trial by the concernedCourt belowand} prayed to dismiss^{this Criminal Petition'}

ln^{view of the above facts and circumstancesof the} case, it is relevant^{to extract the provision under Section370 of}

tPc

"370.^{Traffickingof a Person:(1)Whoever' for the} purpose of exploitation'^{(a) recruits,(b) transports' (c)} harbours,^{(d) transfers, or (e) receives' a personor} persons, bY-

Firstlv- using^{threats, or}

Secondl using force,^{or any other form of} coercion, or

Thirdl by abduction,^or Fourthl by^{practisingfraud'or deception, or}

?;-tt

a

E!frbly- by abuse of power, or

Sixthl by inducement, including the giving or receiving of payments or benefits, in order to ar:hieve the consent of any person having control over the person recruited, transported, harboured, transferred or rec;eived, commits the offence of trafficking. Explan ation 1- The expression "exploitation,' shall include any act of physical exploitation or any fcrm of sexual exploitation, slavery or practices similar to slavery. servitude, or the forced removal of organs

Explanati,on 2.-^{The consent} of the victim is rmmaterial IN

determination of the offence of traffick:ing.

(!)Whoever commits the offence of trafficking shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall rrot be less than seven years, but which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine @lWherre the offence involves the trafficking of rnore 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 imprisonmenl for life, ancl shall also be liable to fine.

@)\Nhere the offence involves the trafficking of a minor, 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.

(flWhere the offence involves the trafficking of more than one minor, it shall be punishable with rigorc,us imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than

4

fourteen^{years, but which may extendto imprisonment} for life, and shall also^{be liable to fine.}

(fllf a person is convicted of the^{offence of trafficking} of minor on more^{than one occasion, then such person} shall be^{punished with imprisonmentfor life' which} shall mean^{imprisonmentfor the remainder of that} person's natural life, and shall^{also be liable to fine'} (flWhen a^public servant^{or a policeofficer is involved} in the trafficking of^{any person then, such public} servant or^police officer^{shall be punished with} imprisonment for^{life, whichshall meanimprisonment} for the remainder^{of that person's natural life, and shall .} ' also be liable^{to fine."}

Section^{370(4) of IPC reads as under:}

Exploitation of^{a traffic ked person'.}

(llWhoever, knowingly^{or having reasonto believe} that a minor has^{beentrafficked, engages suchminor} for sexual^{exploitationin any manner, shall be} punished with rigorous imprisonment^{for a term which} shall not be^{less than five years,but which may extend} to seven^{years, and shall also be liable to fine'}

(llWhoever, knowingly^{by or having reason to believe} that a^{personhas been trafficked' engagessuch} person for sexual exploitation^{in any manner, shall be} punished with rigorous^{imprisonment for a term which} shall not be^{less than three years, but whichmay} extend to five^{years, and shall also be liable to fine'}

4-

5

"7

As per Sections 370 and 370(4) of lpC, any person by using thn:at or force or any form of coercion or abcluction by practicing fraud or deception or by abusing of pourer or by inducing can only be termed as a^,trafficked person,. ln the present caser, even according to the prosecution, the victim was doing prostitution for the sake of money.

Now coming to Sections 3, 4 and 5 of the Act, the provisions in detail are extracted below

Punishment for keepinq a brothel or allowinq premises fo be usedasa brothel.

fi)Any^person who keeps or manages, or acts or assists in the keeping or management of, a brothel shall be punishable on first conviction with rigorous imprisonment for a term of not less than one year and not more than three years and also with fine which may e)dend to two thousand rupees and in the event of a second or subsequent convictiorr, with rigorous imprisonment for a term of not less than two years and not more than five years and also with fine which may extend to two thousand rupees.

@lAny^prerson who-

(qlbeing the tenant, lessee, occupier or person in charge of any premises, uses, or knowingly allows any otherr person to sue, such premises or any parj: thereof as a brothel, or

6

(!,[being the owner, lessor^{or landlord of any} premises or the agent of^{such owner, lessoror} landlord, lets the same^{or any part thereof with the} knowledge that the^{same or any part thereofis} intended to be^{usedas a brothel, or is willfully a} party to the use of such^{premises or any part thereof} as a brothel. Shall^{be punishable on first conviction} with imprisonment^{for a term whichmay extend to} two^years and^{with fine which may extend to two} thousand rupees^{and in the event of a second or} subsequent^{conviction,with rigorous imprisonment} for a term which^{may extend to five years and also} with fine.

@)Notwithstanding^{anything containedin any other} law for the^{time being in force, on conviction of any} person referred to in^{clause (a) or clause (b) of sub-} section⁽²⁾ of^{any offence under that sub-sectionin} respect of any^{premises or any part thereof,any} lease or agreement^{under which suchpremises} have been^{leased out or are held or occupied at the} time of the^{commission of the offence,shall become} void and inoperative^{with effect from the date of the} said conviction.

4- Punishm ent^{forlivinq onthe earn inos of} p rostitution.

|(jlAny^{peison over the age of eighteen yearswho} knowingly^{lives,wholly or in part, on the earnings of} the^{prostitutionof a woman or girl shall be} punishable^{withimprisonmentfor a term whichmay}

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extend to two years, or with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees, or with both.

(!)\Nhere any person is proved_

(4/to be living with, or to be habitually in the compiany of, a prostitute; or

b)to have exercised control, direction or influence over the movements of a prostitute in such a manner as to show that such person is aidinr;, abetting or compelling her prostitution; or

lglto be acting as a tout or pimp on behalf of a prostitute, it shall be presumed, until the contrary is proveo, that such person is knowingly living on the earnings of prostitution of another person within the meaning of sub-section (1):provided that no sur;h presumption shall be drawn in the case of a son cr daughter of a prostitute, if the son or daughter is below the age of eighteen years.

Pro<;unng, inducinq or takinq woman or irl for the sake of prostitution.

AAny;:erson who-

/a]procures or attempts to procure a woman or girl. whether with or without her consent, for the purpose of prostitution; or

@linduces a woman or girl to go from any place, with the, intent that she may for the purpose of prostitution become the inmate of, or frequent, a brothel; or

(gltakes or attempts to take a woman or girl, or causes a woman or girl to be taken, from one place

o

to another^{with a view to her carrying on' or being} brought up^{to carry on prostitution; or} /d)causes^{or inducesa woman or girl to carryon} prostitution; shall^{be punishableon first conviction} with rigorous^{imprisonmentfor a term of not less} than one^{year and not morethan two years and also} with fine^{which may extend to two thousand rupees'} (}ln the event^{of asecond or subsequent} conviction^{of an offence under this section a person} shall be^{punishablewith rigorous imprisonmentfor a} term of^{not less than two yearsand not morethan} five^{years and also with fine which may extend to} two thousand^rupees.

B)An^{offence under this section shallbe triable-} (glin the^{place from which a womanor girl is} procured, induced^{to go' taken or caused to be} taken or^{from which an attempt to procureor take} such woman^{or girl is made; or}

(Olin the^{placeto which she may have gone as a} result of^{the inducement or to which she is taken or} caused to^{be taken or an attemptto take her is} made.

The^{Sections 3, 4, 5 of the Act deals with.regard to} punishment^{for keeping a brothelor allowing premisesto be used} as a brothel,^{punishmentfor livingon the earnings of prostitution;} punishment for^{procuring, inducingor takingwoman or girl for the} There are no^{allegations against the} sake of Prostitution running brothel,^{or they are living on the} petitioners that^{theY are}

9

t

t

ry

earnings of prostitution, or they procured girl fclr doing prostitution. ln the present case on hand, as per the case of prosecution. the sole allegation against the petitioners_accused Nos.S and €i are that they are the customers. Therefore, the allegation against the petitioners does not constitute the ,cffences under Sections 3, 4, 5 of the Act.

l\s seen from the entire case record, the victims joined brothel house and given their willingness to do se>: with the customers. Furthermore, at the stage of filing of the FIR ,)r during the course c,f investigation or through the averments of the charge sheet, the police could not putforth any material to substantiate that the petitioners had knowredge and/or the reason to believe that the women were trafficked for the purpose of prostitution' rrherefore, the ingredients required for constituting the offence under Section 3lO(A)(2) of lpC are not made out against the petitroners.

II

'12 ln view of the above discussion and having considered the fact that the petitioners_accused Nos.5 ancl 6 had no knowledge that the woman were trafficked for the purpose of prostitution, this Court is of the considered view that the continuation of the proceedings against the petitioners_a<;cused Nos.5 and 6 anrounts to abuse of process of law, therefore. the

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.. '':

proceedings against^{the petitioners-accusedNos'S and 6 are} liable to be^quashed.

Accordingly,^{this Criminal Petition is allowed and the} proceedings against^{the petitioners-accusedNos'S and 6 in} P.R.C.N9..105^{of 2024 on the file of the learned Xl Additional} Chief Metropolitan^{Magistrateat Secunderabad'are hereby} quashed

As a sequel,^{pending miscellaneousapplications' if any'}

shalt stand^closed.

//TRUE^COPY//

Sd/- MOHD.^ISMAIL ASSISTANT^REGISTRAR

I

SECTION^OFFICER

To,

The Xl Additional^{Chief Metropolitan Magistrate at Secunderabad}

1

The Station^{House Officer, BegumpetPS' Hyderabad District}

2 3 Two CCs to^{the Public Prosecutor, High Cou'rtfor the State of Telangana'} Hyderabad [OUT]

4 One CC to^{Sri Nageshwar Rao Pujari'Advocate Rep Mis Disha LawFirm} loPUCl

5 Two CD CoPies

vVA/gh

HIGH COURT

DATED:2 4tlZtZO2S

ORDER

GRLP.No.2643 of 20ZS

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ALLOWING THE CRLP

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