Telangana High Court
Madhannagari Venkataramana vs The State Of Telangana on 5 March, 2025
Author: Juvvadi Sridevi
Bench: Juvvadi Sridevi
THE HONOURABLE SMT. JUSTICE JUVVADI SRIDEVI
CRIMINAL PETITION No.3230 of 2025
O R D E R:
This Criminal Petition is filed under Section 528 the Bharatiya
Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (for short ‘BNSS’) by petitioner-
accused No.4 to quash the proceedings against him in SC. No.571 of
2023 on the file of the learned II Additional Junior Civil Judge cum X
Additional Metropolitan Magistrate Cyberabad at Kukatpally, Medchal
Malkajgiri District. The offences alleged against petitioner are under
Section 370, 370A of the Indian Penal Code (for short ‘IPC‘) and
Sections 3, 4 and 5 of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 (for
short ‘the Act’).
02. Heard Sri D.Ambedkar, learned counsel for petitioner
and Sri Jithender Rao Veeramalla, learned Additional Public Prosecutor
for respondent No.1 – State and perused the record.
03. In brief, the case of the prosecution is that the Police,
Bachupally Police Station received credible information about running of
brothel house and raided the premises at Plot No.49, 2nd floor,
Nizampet, Bachupally and found that accused No.1 is organizing brothel
house, accused No.2 is the co-organizer and accused Nos.3 and 4 are
customers of the said brothel house, wherein accused No.4 is the
petitioner herein.
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04. Learned counsel for petitioner submitted that the woman
who was found with petitioner-accused No.4 is not a trafficked woman
and petitioner is nothing to do with the alleged offences. The
ingredients of the offence under Section 370, 370-A of IPC and Sections
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
petitioner-accused No.4.
05. Learned Additional Public Prosecutor for the State
submitted that there are specific allegations against petitioner and the
truth or otherwise would come out only after conducting full-fledged trial
by the concerned Court below and prayed to dismiss this Criminal
Petition.
06. In 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-
Firstly– using threats, or
Secondly– using force, or any other form of coercion,
or
Thirdly– by abduction, or
Fourthly– by practising fraud, or deception, or
3Fifthly– by abuse of power, or
Sixthly– by inducement, including the giving 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 1– 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.
Explanation 2– The consent of the victim is immaterial
in determination of the offence of trafficking.
(2)Whoever 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.
(3)Where 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.
(4)Where 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.
(5)Where the offence involves the trafficking of more
than one minor, it shall be punishable with rigorous
imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than
4fourteen years, but which may extend to imprisonment
for life, and shall also be liable to fine.
(6)If 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.
(7)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(A) of IPC reads as under:
Exploitation of a trafficked person:
(1)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.
(2)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.
08. As per Sections 370 and 370(A) of IPC, any person by
using threat or force or any form of coercion or abduction by practicing
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fraud or deception or by abusing of power or by inducing can only be
termed as a ‘trafficked person’. In the present case, even according to
the statement of sex worker, nothing was stated with regard to
trafficking.
09. Now coming to Sections 3, 4 and 5 of the Act, the
provisions in detail are extracted below:
3. Punishment for keeping a brothel or allowing
premises to be used as a brothel.
(1)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
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.
(2)Any person who-
(a)being 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
(b)being the owner, lessor or landlord of any premises
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
6brothel, 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.
(3)Notwithstanding 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 for living on the earnings of
prostitution.
(1)Any 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.
(2)Where any person is proved-
(a)to be living with, or to be habitually in the company
of, a prostitute; or
(b)to have exercised control, direction or influence over
the movements of a prostitute in such a manner as to
7show that such person is aiding, abetting or compelling
her prostitution; or
(c)to 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. Procuring, inducing or taking woman or girl for
the sake of prostitution.
(1)Any person who-
(a)procures or attempts to procure a woman or girl,
whether with or without her consent, for the purpose of
prostitution; or
(b)induces 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
(c)takes 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
year and not more than two years and also with fine
which may extend to two thousand rupees.
(2)In the event of a second or subsequent conviction of
an offence under this section a person shall be
8punishable 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.
(3)An offence under this section shall be triable-
(a)in 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
(b)in 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 petitioner that he is
running brothel, or he is living on the earnings of prostitution, or he
procured girl for doing prostitution. In the present case on hand, as per
the case of prosecution, the sole allegation against petitioner-accused
No.4 is that he is a customer. Therefore, the allegation against
petitioner does not constitute the offences under Sections 3, 4 and 5 of
the Act.
11. As seen from the entire case record, including the
statement of the victim recorded under Section 161 of Cr.P.C., discloses
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that petitioner-accused No.4 is a customer. Furthermore, 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 petitioner-accused No.4 had knowledge
and/or the reason to believe that the women were trafficked for the
purpose of prostitution. Therefore, the ingredients required to constitute
the offence under Section 370, 370-A of IPC are not made out against
the petitioner.
12. In view of the above discussion and having considered
the fact that the petitioner-accused No.4 had no knowledge that the
woman was trafficked for the purpose of prostitution, this Court is of the
considered view that the continuation of the proceedings against
petitioner-accused No.4 amounts to abuse of process of law, therefore,
the proceedings against the petitioner-accused No.4 are liable to be
quashed.
13. Accordingly, this Criminal Petition is allowed and the
proceedings against the petitioner-accused No.4 in SC No.571 of 2023
on the file of the learned II Additional Junior Civil Judge cum X
Additional Metropolitan Magistrate Cyberabad at Kukatpally, Medchal
Malkajgiri District, are hereby quashed.
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As a sequel, pending miscellaneous applications, if any, shall
stand closed.
______________________
JUVVADI SRIDEVI, J
Date: 05.03.2025
BV