HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE K. LAKSHMAN CRIMINAL PETITION No.3359 OF 2022

ORDER:

This Criminal Petition is filed under Section - 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (for short ‘the Code’) to quash the proceedings in P.R.C. No.94 of 2022 on the file of III Additional Metropolitan Magistrate, Hyderabad at Nampally. 2. The petitioner herein is arraigned as accused No.4 in the said PRC. The offences alleged against him are under Sections - 3, 4 and 5 of the Prevention of Immoral Traffic Act, 1956 (for short ‘PITA’).

3. Heard Mr. M.S. Achyuth Bharathwaj, learned counsel for the petitioner and the learned Assistant Public Prosecutor appearing on behalf of respondents - State.

4. In the charge sheet, it is alleged that accused Nos.1 to 3 are running a brothel house at Happi Thai Spa in the 3^rd floor of H.No.8-2-681/BA/B1/302, situated at Road No.12, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad by procuring sex workers, LWs.2 to 9 through Just dial and customers through Google by keeping office numbers and earning illegal income.

i) It is also alleged that accused Nos.1 and 2 used to talk with customers as per the instructions of accused No.3 and arrange massage and sex workers to participate sex with customers by luring them that they would pay huge money. Accused No.1 used to pay Rs.12,000/- to Rs.15,000/- per month for doing Spa massage and if they participate sex with customers they used to collect Rs.2,000/- from each customer and used to pay Rs.1,000/- to them per customer. The petitioner herein and accused No.5 came to the said Spa and Saloon for Thai massage by contacting office mobile number, which was kept in Google, to participate sex with sex workers. Meanwhile, on receipt of credible information, LW.1 along with LWs.14 to 18 and the mediators, LWs.12 and 13 raided the said premises on 08.03.2022 at about 1845 hours and apprehended the petitioner and accused Nos.1 to 3 and 5 and also rescued the victims / sex workers, LWs.2 to 9. LW.1 recorded the confessional statement of the accused and the petitioner herein and seized the mobile phones and unused condoms from the possession of accused No.1.

5. Mr. M.S. Achyuth Bharthwaj, learned counsel for the petitioner, referring to the contents of the charge sheet, would submit that the petitioner never committed the offences as alleged in the charge sheet. The petitioner is innocent of the offences alleged against him. The contents of the charge sheet lack the ingredients of the offences alleged against the petitioner herein.

i) Learned counsel would also submit that the petitioner went to the aforesaid Spa only for the purpose of massage services and he did not know about the prostitution was being held at the said Spa. With the said submissions, he sought to quash the proceedings against the petitioner herein.

6. On the other hand, learned Assistant Public Prosecutor would submit that there are specific allegations against the petitioner herein. The petitioner was present in the said Spa Centre on the date when raid was conducted and therefore, he is a customer. He would further submit that though the contents of the charge sheet lack the ingredients of Sections - 3, 4 and 5 of the PITA lack, but the same would constitute an offence under Section - 370A (2) of IPC. Whether the petitioner is innocent of the offences alleged and that he went to the said Spa Centre for massage services etc, are all triable issues which are to be tried and decided only after full-fledged trial, but cannot be considered in a petition under Section - 482 of the Cr.P. The Investigating Officer after recording the statements of the witnesses and after collecting the material only filed the charge sheet and, therefore, he sought to dismiss the present petition. He has also placed reliance on the principle laid down by the High Court for the States of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh in Naveen Kumar v. The State of Telangana, [1. 2015 (2) ALD (Crl.) 156 (AP)]

7. In view of the said rival submissions, the undisputed facts are that the p