Gujarat High Court
Judgename :C.K.BUCH
UMEDSINH P.CHAMPAWAT - Appellant
Versus
STAE OF GUJARAT - Respondent
Criminal Misc. Application 3151 Of 2004
Decided On : 06/29/2003
Immoral Traffic (Prevention)Act, 1956 – Sections 3, 4, 5, 7, 9 – Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 – Section 482 – By means of filing this petition under section 482 of Crpc, the petitioner accused has prayed for quashing the FIR filed and chargesheet submitted in connection with the offences, registered by dcb Police Station being II. CR punishable under Sections 3, 4, 5, 7 and 9 of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention)Act, 1956 known as The Suppression of immoral Traffic in Women and Girls Act, 1956 – It is submitted that the petitioner is totally innocent and is not involved in any of the offences alleged against him in the FIR or the chargesheet directly or indirectly and he is being wrongly prosecuted for the said offences which can be termed as the "offence against society". – Petitioner is prosecuted and chargesheeted as the owner of one hotel in the area near Airport of City of Ahmedabad known as Hotel Taj residency Umed – Held, Totally illegal implication in the offence is equal to a false implication and for such an act, the prosecuting officer/agency can be held liable lor malicious prosecution – But this exercise has to be made by the person falsely implicated before the competent forum in accordance with law – Petitioner is entitled to do it – Section 9 of the said Act, on the face of it, is not applicable in the facts and circumstances of the present case – For attracting Section 9 of the Act, it has to be shown prima facie that the petitioner having position or authority over any person, i. e. a woman or girl causes or aids or abets the seduction for prostitution of that woman or girl – Question again, at the cost of repetition, is the petitioner s position or authority over any such woman or girl – There is not a thread of any evidence even to remotely suggest that the petitioner taking undue advantage of his position or authority over any woman or girl, caused or aided or abetted the seduction for prostitution of that woman or girl – Application Allowed (Paras 14, 15, 16)
( 1 ) BY means of filing this petition under section 482 of Crpc, the petitioner accused has prayed for quashing the FIR filed and chargesheet submitted in connection with the offences, registered on 16. 02. 2003 by dcb Police Station being II. CR No. 3003/ 2003 punishable under Sections 3, 4, 5, 7 and 9 of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention)Act, 1956 known as The Suppression of immoral Traffic in Women and Girls Act, 1956 (hereinafter referred to as the Act), It is submitted that the petitioner is totally innocent and is not involved in any of the offences alleged against him in the FIR or the chargesheet directly or indirectly and he is being wrongly prosecuted for the said offences which can be termed as the "offence against society". The petitioner is prosecuted and chargesheeted as the owner of one hotel in the area near Airport of City of Ahmedabad known as Hotel Taj residency Umed.
( 2 ) LD. counsel Mr. Anandjiwala appearing for the petitioner has taken this court through the averments made in the petition and the cause for which the petitioner has been named as an accused in the chargesheet filed by the police. Of course, the FIR as well as the chargesheet have been assailed on various grounds mentioned in the memo of the petition, but ld. Counsel Mr. Anandjiwala has concentrated his arguments substantially on two main grounds, viz; (i) The uncontroverted allegations made in the FIR and the evidence which has been collected by the Investigating Agency so far in support of the same which consist of statements of co-accused and the so-called victims of immoral traffic (prostitutes) do not disclose the commission of any offence and make-out a case against the accused; in light of the scheme of sections shown in the fir and the purpose of the Act. (ii) The present criminal proceedings initiated against the petitioner is manifestly tainted with mala fide and is maliciously instituted with an ulterior motive for wreaking vengeance on the petitioner in view of the political motivation as can be seen from the facts on record.
( 3 ) TO appreciate the say and submissions of ld. counsel Mr. Anandjiwala for the petitioner, it would be beneficial to narrate in brief the case of the prosecution. (i) On 06. 02. 2003, a specific information was received by the Jt. Police commissioner, Crime Branch, Ahmedabad that an illegal and immoral activities are being done by the Agents etc. providing young girls and women and they are being used as sex workers. These activities are nothing but prostitution and, therefore, with a view to contemplate some legal action against such persons/ agents, an offence came to be registered as II. CR No. 3003/ 2003 at DCB Police Station. (ii) Investigation of said FIR was being done by one Police Inspector Shri Tarun barot and when investigation was in progress, on 15. 02. 2003, Dy. SP, Crime branch Shri Vanzara received further secret information that in certain hotels, this immoral trafficking business of prostitution of girls and ladies is being done by some procurers/agents which can be termed as agent or mediator. In relation to this information and to do further procedure under the rules, the services of one lady punch and two male panchas were sought and the raid was carried out by finalising a deal with the procurers mainly with one shri Nirav Modi. This Nirav Modi- one of the co-accused had agreed to send a girl in hotel Samir and subsequently a successful raid was carried out at Hotel Samir and during raid, raiding party found one girl from room No. 305 along with bogus customer planted by the raiding party. The girl found from room No. 305 of Hotel samir was, according to the prosecution, one Shehnaz Munni. w/o Md. Yunus shaikh. Immediately thereafter, one another raid was carried out at Hotel Avtar Palace located near Raipur Gate, Opp: mahipatram Ashram. This raid was carried out on the information divulged by Shenaz @ Munni. Certain recoveries were made from Holel Avtar and from the
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