Kochi: The Kerala High Court has ruled that individuals seeking the services of a sex worker in a brothel can be prosecuted for abetment to prostitution. Justice V.G. Arun delivered this significant clarification in an order that partially allowed a petition filed by the third accused, who sought to quash a case registered against him by the Thiruvananthapuram Peroorkada Police in 2021 under the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act.
The High Court explicitly stated that a person availing the services of a sex worker at a brothel cannot be classified as a ‘consumer’. The court emphasized that to be considered a consumer, one must purchase a good or a service. A sex worker, the court highlighted, is not a mere product. Instead, they are often victims of human trafficking, coerced and compelled to offer their bodies for the physical gratification of others.
Justice Arun further elaborated on the dynamics of such transactions, stating, “Through human trafficking, they (sex workers) are lured into this trade and compelled to offer their bodies to physically satisfy others. In reality, the person seeking pleasure may pay money, a large part of which goes to the caretaker of the brothel. Therefore, this payment can only be considered an inducement for the sex worker to surrender their body and act according to the desires of the paying individual. Thus, a person seeking the service of a sex worker in a brothel is, in fact, paying money to induce that sex worker to engage in prostitution.”
The petitioner had been arrested by the police in 2021 under various sections of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act. While the court quashed the proceedings under Sections 3 and 4 of the Act, it firmly asserted that the accused would still face prosecution for offenses under Sections 5(1)(d), which pertains to procuring a person for prostitution, and Section 7, related to prostitution in or near public places.