Chennai, Apr 30 (PTI) Holding that procedural lapses cannot deprive the law enforcing agency to take penal action against persons indulging in sexual trade, the Madras High Court has refused to set aside the criminal proceedings initiated by the Anna Nagar police against a local spa.
The police had registered a case against Hema Jwaalini and two others in 2020 for offences punishable under Sections 3(2)(a), 4(1) and 5(1)(a) of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act.
In their criminal original petition, the petitioners, among other things, contended that the procedures stipulated under Section 15 of the Act were not strictly followed while conducting the raid. The local police were taking penal action as they did not honour their illegal demands, they added.
This section requires the presence of two eye-witnesses while making the raid.
Accepting the submission of State Public Prosecutor Hasan Mohammed Jinnah that Section 15 is not mandatory, Justice A D Jagadish Chandira said that in every case, on the touchstone of Section 15(2) of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, it has to be determined by the courts whether it was efficacious for the officers to call two persons from the locality or if due to urgency or emergency, the said provision could not be complied with, it has to depend on the facts and circumstances.
Mere violation of Section 15(2) of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act will not vitiate the proceedings, as it will be in the realm of appreciation of evidence in each and every case, the judge said.
A perusal of the entire material in the light of the submission on both sides reveals that the petitioners are facing the criminal proceedings initiated by the respondent police on the allegation that under the guise of running spas and beauty parlours, they run brothels by exploiting women and girls and they become a nuisance and annoyance to the society.
However, they claim that such criminal proceedings are false cases implicated against them with malafide intention by the respondent police since their illegal demands were not satisfied by the petitioners.
Moreover, peculiarly, the judge noted that the petitioners have not at all taken a stand in their petition as if they have not indulged in any immoral act as alleged by the respondent police. They took lot of effort to harp on the issue mainly on procedural irregularity on the part of the police and they have not taken any step to deny the allegation, the judge pointed out and dismissed the petition. PTI COR HDA
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