Daijiworld Media Network - Kochi
Kochi, Sep 10: In a landmark ruling, the Kerala High Court has held that individuals availing sexual services in brothels can be prosecuted under the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 (ITP Act), observing that payment for such services amounts to inducement into prostitution.
Justice VG Arun, while delivering the verdict, stressed that sex workers cannot be reduced to mere commodities and that those seeking their services are active participants in exploitation. “A person utilising the service of a sex worker at a brothel cannot be termed a customer. Payment made is only an inducement compelling the sex worker to act against their will, often under trafficking and coercion,” the court said.
The ruling came in connection with a case arising from a 2021 police raid in Peroorkada, Thiruvananthapuram, where the petitioner and another man were found with women in separate rooms. Investigations revealed that two persons were managing the brothel, procuring women and collecting payments.
While the brothel operators were booked under Sections 3 and 4 of the ITP Act (running a brothel and living off prostitution earnings), the petitioner also faced charges under Section 5(1)(d) (inducing a person into prostitution) and Section 7 (prostitution in or near public places).
The petitioner argued that he was merely a customer and should not be held liable under the Act, citing previous rulings. However, the prosecution countered that liability must be determined based on evidence.
After hearing both sides, the High Court clarified that while Sections 3 and 4 apply to brothel operators, individuals availing sexual services fall under Section 5(1)(d) as they are inducing prostitution. Proceedings against the petitioner under Sections 3 and 4 were quashed, but the court upheld his prosecution under Sections 5(1)(d) and 7.
“If such a person is described as a customer, it defeats the very object of the Act, which is to prevent human trafficking and protect those compelled into prostitution,” the court underlined.