COMMON ORDER ON REFERENCE:

(Per Hon’ble Sri Justice K. Lakshman)

1. The present batch of criminal petitions has been placed before this Division Bench by the then Hon’ble Acting Chief Justice, pursuant to the order dated 09.06.2025 passed by the learned Single Judge in CRLP No. 2767 of 2025 and batch [hereinafter “reference order”].

2. Seeking clarification regarding the applicability of Section 370A (2) of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 [hereinafter “IPC”] to customers of a sex worker, the learned Single Judge had referred the following questions to be decided:

“i. Whether mere presence in such premises, without evidence of specific acts of exploitation or management, is sufficient to constitute an offence under the said provisions?

ii. Whether the customer in Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 can be prosecuted for the offence punishable under Section 370-A (2) of the IPC?”

3. Before dealing with the questions to be decided in the present reference, we deem it appropriate to discuss the background and the reference order passed by the learned Single Judge.

4. The Petitioners herein, allegedly, are the “customers” or clients of sex workers. Some of them claim to be merely present