The High Court · 2025

Petition under Section 482 of Cr.P.C. praying that in the circumstances stated in the Memorandum of Grounds of Criminal Petition, the High Court may be pleased to quash the proceedings in PRC No. 2012023 on the file of the Xlll Additional Metropolitan Magistrate at Rajendra Nagar, Ranga Reddy District. l.A. NO: 2OF 2024 Petition under Section 482 of Cr.P.C. praying that in the circumstances stated in the Memorandum of Grounds of Criminal Petition, the High Court may be pleased to stay all further proceedings including execution of NBW in PRC No. 2012023 on the file of the Xlll Additional Metropolitan Magistrate at Rajendra Nagar, Ranga Reddy District during the pendency of Criminal Petition. This Petition coming on for hearing, upon perusing the lt/emorandum of Grounds of Criminal Petition and upon hearing the arguments of Sri P Animi Reddy, Advocate for the Petitioner and Sri Jithender Rao Veeramlla, Additional Public Prosecutor on behalf of the Respondent No.1. The Court made the following Order : THE HONOURABLE SMT. JUSTICE JUWADISRIDEVI CRIMINAL PETITION No.999 ot 2024 ORDER This Criminal Petition is filed by the petitioner-accused No.6 to quash the proceedings against him in P.R.C.No.20 of 2023 on the file of the learned Xlll Additional Metropolitan t\Iagistrate at Rajendranagar, Rangareddy District. The offences alleged against the petitioner are under Sections 370, 370(4) of the lndian penal Code (for short 'lPC') and 3, 4 and 5 of the lmmoral Traffic (Prevention)Act, 1956 (for short 'the Act').

02. Heard Sri P. Animi Reddy, learned counsel for petitioner and Sri Jithender Rao Veeramalla, learned Additional Public Prosecutor for the State.

03. ln brief, the case of the prosecution is that the Police, received credible information about running of brothel house and raided the premises of Watman room in the Ground floor and Room No.202 in the second floor at plot No.3, Jagan Apartments, Sree Laxmi Nagar Colony, Manikonda and found that the accused Nos.2 to 5 were organizing brothel house and petitioner-accused No.6 is the customer of the said brothel house. 2 I

04. Learned counsel for petitioner submitted that the woman who was found with petitioner-accused No.6, is not a trafficked woman and the petitioner is nothing to do with the alleged offences. The ingredients of the offence under Sections 370, 370(A) 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 petitioner.

05. Learned Additional Public Prosecutor for the State submitted that there are specific allegations against the petitioner and the truth or othenrise would come out only after conducting full-fledged trial by the concerned Court below and prayed to dismiss this Criminal Petition.

06. ln view of the above facts and circumstances of the case, it is relevant to extract the provision under Section 370 of IPC: "370. Trafficking of a Person: (1)Whoever, for the purpose of exploitation, (a) recruits, (b) transports' (c) harbours, (d) transfers, or (e) receives, a person or persons, by- E!!SJ!y- using threats. or Second, using force, or any other form of coercion, I I 3 Thirdl by abduction, or by practising fraud, or deception, or Fourthl Fifthlv- by abuse of power, or Sixthl by inducement, including the givirrg or receiving of payments or benefits, in order to achieve the consent of any person having control over the person recruited, transported, harboured, transferred or received, commits the offence of trafficking. Explanation 7- The expression "exploitation" shall include any act of physical exploitation or any form of sexual exploitation, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude, or the forced removal of organs. Explana tion 2- The consent of the victim is imnraterial in determination of the offence of trafficking. @lWhoever commits the offence of trafficking shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than seven years, but which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine. (QWhere the offence involves the trafficking of more 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 imprisonment for life, and 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 rigorous 4 imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than fourteen years, but which may extend to imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to fine. @llf a person is convicted of the offence of trafficking of minor on more than one occasion, then such person shall be punished with imprisonment for life, which shall mean imprisonment for the remainder of that person's natural life; and shall also be liable to fine. @When a public servant or a police officer is involved in the trafficking of any person then, such public servant or police officer shall be punished with imprisonment for life, which shall mean imprisonment for the remainder of that person's natural life, and shall also be liable to fine."

07. Section 370(4) of IPC reads as under Exploitation of a trafficked person'. {!)Whoever, knowingly or having reason to believe that a minor has been trafficked, engages such minor for sexual exploitation in 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. (!)Whoever, knowingly by or having reason to believe that a person has been trafficked, engages such 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 which may extend to five years, and shall also be liable to fine. I 5

08. As per Sections 370 and 370(4) of lPC, any person by using threat or force or any form of coercion or abduction by practicing fraud or deception or by abusing of power or by inducing can only be termed as a 'trafficked person' ln the present case, even according to the prosecution, the victim was doing prostitution for the sake of money.

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

3. Punishment for keeptnq a brothel or allowinq premises to be used as a brothel. (llAny 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 extend to two thousand rupees and in the event of a second or subsequent conviction, 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. (!/Any person who- (g,lbeing the tenant, lessee, occupier or person in charge of any premises, uses, or knowingly allows any other person to sue, such premises or any part thereof as a brothel, or 6 (!,.lbeing the owner, lessor or landlord of any prernises or the agent of such owner, lessor or landlord, lets the same or any part thereof with the knowledge that the same or any part thereof is intended to be used as a brothel, or is wilfully 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 which may 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. @lNotwithstanding anything contained in 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_section in respect of any premises or any part thereof, any lease or agreement under which such premises 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. Punishment prostitution (llAny person over the age of eighteen years who knowingly lives, wholly or in part, on the earnings of the prostitution of a woman or girl shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees, or with both. (!)\Nhere any person is proved- for livinq on the earninqsof t / : I / {e)lo be living with, or to be habitually in the company of, a prostitute; or (Q.,lto have exercised control, direction or influence over the movements of a prostitute in such a manner as to show that such person is aiding, abetting or compelling her prostitution; or (q,lto be acting as a tout or pimp on behalf of a prostitute, it shall be presumed, until the contrary is proved, that such person is knowingly living on the earnings of prostitution of another person within the meaning of sub-section (1 ):Provided that no such presumption shall be drawn in the case of a son or daughter of a prostitute, if the son or daughter is below the age of eighteen years. 5. Procurinq, inducing or takinq woman or qirl for the sake of prostitution. (llAny person who- t/a)procures or attempts to procure a woman or girl, whether with or without her consent, for the purpose of prostitution; or (0,linduces a woman or girl to go from any place, with the intent that she may for the purpose of proslitution become the inmate of, or frequent, a brothel; or (Eltakes or attempts to take a woman or girl, or causes a woman or girl to be taken, from one place to another with a view to her carrying on, or being brought up to carry on prostitution; or /d)causes or induces a woman or girl to carry on prostitution;shall be punishable on first conviction with rigorous imprisonment for a term of not less than one c year and not more than two years and also with fine which may extend to two thousand rupees. (!)ln the event of a second or subsequent conviction of an offence under this section a person shall be punishable 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. (!,lAn offence under this section shall be triable- (a,lin the place from which a woman or girl is procured, induced to go, taken or caused to be taken or from which an attempt to procure or take such woman or girl is made; or (0,lin the place to which she may have gone as a result of the inducement or to which she is taken or caused to be taken or an attempt to take her is made.

10. The Sections 3, 4 and 5 of the Act deals with regard to punishment for keeping a brothel or allowing premises to be used as a brothel, punishment for living on the earnings of prostitution; punishment for procuring, inducing or taking woman or girl for the sake of prostitution. There are no allegations against the petitioner that he is running brothel, or he is living on the earnings of prostitution, or he procured girl for doing prostitution ln the present case on hand, as per the case of prosecution, the sole allegation against the petitioner-accused No.6 is that he is the 9 customer. Therefore the allegation against the petitioner does not constitute the offences under Sections 3, 4 and 5 of the Act.

11. As seen from the entire case record, the victims joined brothel house and given their willingness to do sex with the customers. Fudhermore, at the stage of filing of the FIR or during the course of investigation or through the averments of the charge sheet, the Police could not putforth any material to substantiate that the petitioner had knowledge and/or the reason to believe that \ the women were trafficked for the purpose of prostitution. Therefore, the ingredients required for constituting the offence under Section 370(4)(2) of IPC are not made out against the petitioner.

12. ln view of the above discussion and having , I considered the fact that the petitioner-accused No.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 petitioner-accused No.6 amounts to abuse of process of law, therefore, the proceedings against the petitioner-accused No.6 are liable to be quashed. 10 I

13. Accordingly, this Criminal Petition is allowed and the proceedings against the petitioner-accused No.6 in P.R.C.No.20 of 2023 on the file of the learned XIll Additional l\4etropolitan Magistrate at Rajendranagar, Rangareddy District, are hereby quashed As a sequel, pending miscellaneous applications, if any, shall stand closed //TRUE COPY// l Sd/- T. JAYASREE ASSISTANT REGISTRAR / SECTION OFFICER To,

1. The Xlll Additional Metropolitan Magistrate at Rajendra Nagar, Ranga Reddy District

2. The Station House Officer, Raidurgam Police Station, Cyberabad, Ranga Reddy District \

3. Two CCs to the Public Prosecutor, High Court for the State of Telangana, Hyderabad IOUTI

4. One CC to Sri P Animi Reddy, Advocate [OPUC] 5. Two CD Copies c)& , I HIGH COURT DATED:1010212025 ORDER CRLP.No.999 of 2024 --.---. : i '. -_ ) () I Y a \f I) ,/ .a 1 3 rEB 2025 P4TC 'rGi ALLOWING THE CRLP dY{#