1. This is a petition filed under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure to quash Annexure-1 and II in Crime No.526/2010 of Keezhvaipur police station which is pending before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court, Thiruvalla in CC.No.136/2011 punishable under Section 4 and 5 of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 (for short 'the Act') by invoking inherent power. The petitioner is the 4th accused in the above case, who challenges Annexure-I and II on two grounds that there was violation of mandatory provision of the Act and the investigation was conducted not by a special officer appointed by the Government under the Act. If the trial is proceeded it will amount to abuse of the process of court.

2. The 2nd respondent's allegation is that on 30.10.2010 he got information that the petitioner and other accused were indulged in immoral activities. Immediately he arrived at the house and ascertained the genuineness of the information, thereafter arrested A1, A2, A3 and A4 in the presence of the independent witnesses. The articles found there were seized reaching at the police station he registered a crime. After investigation the Sub Inspector of Keezhvaipur police station laid charge before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court, Thiruvalla where it was numbered as CC.No.136/2011. The learned counsel appearing for the petitioner contended that the S.I. of police Keezhvaipur police station is not a special police officer under Sec.13(1) of the Act to file a final report, which is a violation of mandatory provisions of the Act. He relies the decisions reported in Roy v. State of Kerala (2001 KHC 53), Sinu Sainudheen v. Sub Inspector of Police (2002 KHC 152), Radhakrishnan K. v. State of Kerala (2008(2) KHC 460), Abdul Rasheed v. State of Kerala (2012(4) KHC 395).

3. Adverting to the argument I have first considered Section 13 of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956, which reads thus:

“13. Special police officer and advisory body:-

(1) There shall be for each area to be specified by the State Government in this behalf a special police officer appointed by or on behalf of that Government for dealing with offences under this Act in that area.

(2) The special police officer shall not be below the rank of an Inspector of Police. (2A) The District Magistrate may, if he considers it necessary or expedient so to do, confer upon any retired police or military officer all or any of the powers conferred by or under this Act on a special police officer, with respect to particular cases or classes of cases or to cases generally:

Provided that no such power shall be conferred on-

(a) a retired police officer unless such officer, at the time of his retirement, was holding a post not below the rank of an inspector,

(b) a retired military officer unless such officer, at the time of his retirement, was holding a post not below the rank of a commissioned officer.

(3) For the efficient discharge of his functions in relation to offences under this Act- (a) the special police officer of an area shall be assisted by such number of subordinate police officers (including women police officers wherever practicable) as the State Government may think fit; and

(b) the State Government may associate with the special police officer a non-official advisory body consisting of not more than five leading social welfare workers of that area (including women social welfare workers wherever practicable) to advise him on questions of general importance regarding the working of this Act.

(4) The Central Government may, for the purpose of investigating any offence under this Act or under any other law for the time being in force dealing with sexual exploitation of persons and committed in more than one State, appoint such number of police officers as trafficking police officers and they shall exercise all the powers and discharge all the functions as are exercisable by special police officers under this Act with the modification that