The court ruled that trafficking and sexual exploitation are grave societal crimes, warranting strict adherence to statutory procedures, yet not subjected to quashing unless a case is frivolous.

ORDER :

L.VICTORIA GOWRI, J.

Criminal Original Petition filed under Section 482 Cr.P.C., 1973 / Section 528 BNSS , 2023, praying to call for the records relating to the charge sheet in C.C.No.540 of 2021 on the file of the learned Judicial Magistrate No.II, Madurai, arising out of Crime No. 731 of 2019, and quash the same insofar as the petitioner (A2) is concerned. Prologue:

2. The offence alleged in the present case transcends a mere statutory infraction and touches the core of constitutional values. Prostitution sustained through trafficking, coercion, or inducement is not a private moral issue but a grave societal crime that undermines human dignity and social justice. Such organised exploitation, particularly of vulnerable women, has far-reaching consequences on public order, gender equality, and the collective conscience of society.

3. Article 23 of the Constitution of India expressly prohibits trafficking in human beings and all forms of forced labour, casting a positive obligation on the State and constitutional Courts to prevent, prosecute, and eradicate such exploitation. Complementarily, Article 39(e) mandates that State policy ensure that the health and strength of women are not abused and that economic necessity does not compel citizens to enter exploitative or degrading avocations. Trafficking of women under the guise of employment or service directly offends both these constitutional commands.

4. The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956, is therefore a constitutional response to these mandates, intended not merely to punish individual wrongdoing but to dismantle organised structures of exploitation. Courts, while exercising inherent jurisdiction at the threshold, must remain alive to this constitutional purpose, lest premature interference results in the dilution of the fight against trafficking and the erosion of the constitutional promise of dignity, equality, and women empowerment.

5. It is against this constitutional backdrop that the allegations in the present case, the statements of the victims, and the role attributed to the accused are required to be examined. The gravity of the offence alleged demands a careful, cautious, and constitutionally informed judicial approach, ensuring that the shield of inherent jurisdiction is not converted into a sword against the very objectives the Constitution seeks to achieve.

6. This Criminal Original Petition is filed seeking quashment of the final report in C.C.No.540 of 2021 (arising out of Crime No.731 of 2019) insofar as the petitioner, who is arrayed as Accused No.2, is concerned. The offences alleged are under Sections 3 (1), 4(1), 4(2)(a), 4(2)(c) and allied provisions of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 (herein after referred to as “ ITPA ”), besides allied allegations arising from the raid and the statements recorded.

Case of the Prosecution (as reflected in FIR/Final Report):

7. The de facto complainant is an Inspector of Police attached to the Anti-Trafficking Wing, Madurai. On receipt of information regarding alleged immoral trafficking activities in Room Nos.234 and 235 of Cosmopolitan Hotel, near Madurai Railway Station, a search was conducted on 16.09.2019 around 12.40 p.m., along with women police