{"id":359591,"date":"2025-09-10T10:00:45","date_gmt":"2025-09-10T04:30:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/?p=359591"},"modified":"2025-09-11T17:38:20","modified_gmt":"2025-09-11T12:08:20","slug":"kerala-hc-inducing-prostitution-brothel-customer-liability","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/09\/10\/kerala-hc-inducing-prostitution-brothel-customer-liability\/","title":{"rendered":"Individuals availing services of sex workers in brothels can be prosecuted for inducing prostitution under Immoral Traffic Act: Kerala HC"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align: justify; line-height: 150%;\">\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\"><span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Kerala High Court:<\/span> In a case examining the applicability of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0002810437\" target=\"_blank\">Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956<\/a> (&#8216;the Act&#8217;) to a person alleged to be a mere customer at a brothel, the Single Judge Bench of Justice V.G. Arun held that while certain charges were inapplicable, others could validly proceed based on the facts and intent of the legislation.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The petitioner argued that the provisions of the Act were not applicable to him, as he was not engaged in prostitution as a trade or business, but was merely a customer at the premises.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Accepting this argument in part, the Court quashed the prosecution under Sections <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001574172\" target=\"_blank\">3<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001574173\" target=\"_blank\">4<\/a> of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0002810437\" target=\"_blank\">the Act<\/a>, which relate to keeping a brothel and living on the earnings of prostitution, respectively, holding that these provisions did not apply to the petitioner&#8217;s role.<\/p>\n<p>However, the Court allowed the prosecution to continue under Sections 5(1)(d) and 7, stating that:<\/p>\n<ul style=\"list-style-type: disc;\">\n<li>\n<p>The petitioner could still be prosecuted for inducing prostitution by paying for sexual services, which constitutes inducement under Section 5(1)(d);<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The continuation of proceedings under Section 7 would depend on whether the brothel was situated in a notified or prohibited area, which would require determination based on factual evidence.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The Court further emphasised that customers who avail sexual services at brothels cannot be seen as passive participants, and such acts contribute to the exploitation the Act seeks to prevent.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The petitioner is the third accused in Crime registered under Sections <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001574172\" target=\"_blank\">3<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001574173\" target=\"_blank\">4<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001574174\" target=\"_blank\">5(1)(d)<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001574176\" target=\"_blank\">7<\/a> of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0002810437\" target=\"_blank\">the Act<\/a>. The case arose from a police raid conducted on 18-03-2021 at a House based on credible information that prostitution was taking place at the premises.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">During the search, the police found the petitioner along with a woman, both naked, in one of the rooms. In another room, another man and woman were found, while a third woman was found hiding in the kitchen. Upon questioning, it was revealed that accused 1 and 2 had allegedly procured the women and were arranging customers for the purpose of prostitution. The brothel keeper informed the police that customers were charged Rs. 2,000 per hour, out of which Rs. 1,000 was paid to the sex workers.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The prosecution alleged that the petitioner was one of the customers engaging in sexual activity at the premises.<\/p>\n<p>The petitioner has contended that even if all allegations are accepted at face value, the charges under the Act are not applicable to him. Specifically:<\/p>\n<ul style=\"list-style-type: disc;\">\n<li>\n<p>Section 3 relates to keeping a brothel, which the petitioner did not do.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Section 4 applies to persons living on the earnings of prostitution, which is not the case here.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Section 7 requires that prostitution occur in a notified area, which has not been established.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Section 5(1)(d) pertains to inducing or causing a woman to engage in prostitution, which also does not apply to a mere customer.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The petitioner argued that the provisions of the Act 1956 are not applicable to him, as he was merely a customer at the premises and not involved in the act of prostitution as a trade or business.<\/p>\n<p>The Court acknowledged the contentions raised by the petitioner and clarified the scope of the relevant provisions under the Act:<\/p>\n<ul style=\"list-style-type: disc;\">\n<li>\n<p>Section 3 applies only to persons who keep, manage, or assist in managing a brothel. A mere presence at the premises as a customer does not attract this provision.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Section 4 is attracted only where a person is found living on the earnings of another&#8217;s prostitution. Again, this does not include a customer availing services.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Section 7, which criminalizes the act of carrying on prostitution in or in the vicinity of notified areas such as public places, schools, places of worship, etc., can apply to both the sex worker and the person engaging in prostitution with them. However, this is subject to proof that the act occurred within a notified or prohibited area as defined under clauses (a) and (b) of Section 7(1).<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The Court emphasised that whether the brothel was situated in such a notified area is a matter of evidence. Furthermore, the Court clarified that the legal position is settled, a customer found in a brothel in a notified area may be liable under Section 7, but this determination must be evidence-based.<\/p>\n<p>The Court addressed the petitioner&#8217;s challenge to prosecution under Section 5(1)(d) of the the Act and emphasised that the interpretation of this provision must be informed by the object and purpose of the Act.<\/p>\n<ul style=\"list-style-type: disc;\">\n<li>\n<p>The Act originated from the Suppression of Immoral Traffic in Women and Girls Act, 1956, which was enacted pursuant to an international convention held in New York on 9 May 1950, to which India is a signatory.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>The principal aim of the Act is to prevent the commercial exploitation of women and girls through prostitution and trafficking.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>In 1978, the Act was amended to address enforcement gaps, but further inadequacies persisted, especially in tackling the broader dimensions of immoral trafficking.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>As a result, in 1986, the Act was again amended and renamed the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, with the specific intention to:<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 36pt; text-indent: -18pt;\">&#9675; Widen the scope to include both males and females.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 36pt; text-indent: -18pt;\">&#9675; Make the penal provisions more stringent.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 36pt; text-indent: -18pt;\">&#9675; Provide standards for correctional treatment and rehabilitation of victims.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 36pt; text-indent: -18pt; margin-bottom: 3%;\">&#9675; Target commercial sexual exploitation in all forms.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">In light of this background, the Court noted that any prosecution under Section 5(1)(d),which relates to causing or inducing a person to carry on prostitution, must be carefully assessed to ensure it aligns with the purpose of curbing commercial exploitation, rather than punishing mere customers unless specific elements of inducement or coercion are proven.<\/p>\n<p>The Court, after analysing the definitions of &#8216;brothel&#8217; and &#8216;prostitution&#8217; under the Act, 1956, clarified that:<\/p>\n<ul style=\"list-style-type: disc;\">\n<li>\n<p>Any place where a person can freely request sexual services, select a sex worker, and engage in sexual intercourse for payment, would fall within the definition of a brothel under the Act.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The act of the sex worker engaging in sexual activity for commercial consideration constitutes prostitution.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The Court then turned to the core issue in the case&#8212;whether a customer availing such sexual services at a brothel can be prosecuted under Section 5(1)(d) of the Act.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The Court noted that while some other High Courts have taken a contrary view, that a customer in a brothel cannot be prosecuted under Sections 5 or 7 of Act 1956, it respectfully disagreed with such reasoning.<\/p>\n<p>The Court reasoned that:<\/p>\n<ul style=\"list-style-type: disc;\">\n<li>\n<p>A sex worker is not a commodity, and cannot be treated as a product or service being &#8220;purchased&#8221; by a customer.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>In many cases, sex workers are victims of trafficking and coercion, and are forced to engage in prostitution.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Therefore, a person who pays to engage in sexual acts at a brothel is not merely a passive &#8220;customer&#8221;, but is in fact inducing the sex worker into prostitution.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>This inducement through payment directly attracts liability under Section 5(1)(d) of the ITPA.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Allowing such persons to be treated as mere customers undermines the objective of the Act, which is to combat human trafficking and exploitation, not to punish the victims.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">[<span style=\"font-weight: bold; color: #632423;\">Sarath Chandran v. State of Kerala, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink\/4vui5D0m\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">2025 SCC OnLine Ker 6727<\/a>, decided on 21-07-2025<\/span>]<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<p>Advocates who appeared in this case:<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt;\"><span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">For Petitioner:<\/span> CS Sumesh, Advocate<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt;\"><span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">For Respondent:<\/span> Pushpalatha MK, Sr.PP<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p style=\"font-style: italic;\">&#8220;A person utilising the service of a sex worker at a brothel cannot be termed a customer. To be a customer, a person should buy some goods or services. A sex worker cannot be denigrated as a product&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67512,"featured_media":359597,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,10],"tags":[88838,88836,2523,88837,88839],"class_list":["post-359591","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-casebriefs","category-highcourts","tag-brothel-prosecution","tag-immoral-traffic-act","tag-Kerala_High_Court","tag-prostitution-law-india","tag-sex-worker-customer-liability"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.4 (Yoast SEO v26.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Kerala HC: Individuals Availing Sex Workers at Brothels Can Be Prosecuted Under Immoral Traffic Act | SCC Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Kerala High Court rules that 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a \u2018customer\u2019 in a brothel be proceeded against criminally under the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956; Kerala High Court answers","author":"Editor","date":"December 15, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Kerala High Court held that the words \u2018person with whom such prostitution is carried on\u2019 as appearing in section 7(1) of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 will include a \u2018customer\u2019. Thus, a customer in a brothel can be proceeded against criminally.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Case Briefs&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Kerala High Court","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/MicrosoftTeams-image-310.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":376972,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/02\/27\/proceedings-against-brothel-customer-quashed-finding-no-inducement-of-prostitution-ker-hc\/","url_meta":{"origin":359591,"position":1},"title":"Kerala HC quashes criminal proceedings against brothel customer after finding no inducement of prostitution","author":"Sunaina","date":"February 27, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cSection 3, Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 deals with the punishment for keeping a brothel or allowing premises to be used as a brothel, and the said provision has no application to the petitioner who is alleged to be merely a customer.\u201d","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Case Briefs&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"no inducement of prostitution","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/no-inducement-of-prostitution.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/no-inducement-of-prostitution.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/no-inducement-of-prostitution.webp?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/no-inducement-of-prostitution.webp?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":201920,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2018\/09\/18\/taking-the-services-of-a-prostitute-cannot-be-penalized-under-ipc-and-immoral-traffic-prevention-act-karnataka-high-court\/","url_meta":{"origin":359591,"position":2},"title":"Taking the services of a prostitute cannot be penalized under IPC and Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act: Karnataka High Court","author":"Bhumika Indulia","date":"September 18, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Karnataka High Court: A Single Judge Bench comprising of K.N. Phaneendra, J. allowed a petition wherein the bench stated that a customer encouraging the services of a prostitute cannot be held liable for any prosecution. The petition was filed under Section 482 of CrPC in order to quash the entire\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Case Briefs&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":176934,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2017\/12\/19\/customers-brothel-house-not-offenders-immoral-traffic-prevention-act-1956\/","url_meta":{"origin":359591,"position":3},"title":"Customers in a brothel house are not offenders under the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956","author":"Saba","date":"December 19, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Karnataka High Court: A criminal petition was filed under Section 482 CrPC to quash the proceedings in a criminal case filed under the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956, where a Single Judge Bench comprising of K.N. Phaneendra, J. held that the offences under ITP Act or under Section 370\u00a0 IPC\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Case Briefs&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":314298,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2024\/02\/16\/for-offence-under-s-370-a-of-ipc-customer-of-sex-worker-must-procure-women-for-another-legal-news\/","url_meta":{"origin":359591,"position":4},"title":"[Trafficking for Sexual Exploitation] S. 370-A IPC offence made out only when sex worker&#8217;s customer has procured her for another person: Orissa HC","author":"Editor","date":"February 16, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cIn the absence of material that women are trafficked for the purpose of engaging for sexual exploitation, the offence under Section 370-A (2) of the IPC cannot be attracted against the customer\u201d.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Case Briefs&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"orissa high court","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/orissa-high-court.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/orissa-high-court.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/orissa-high-court.webp?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/orissa-high-court.webp?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":207715,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2019\/01\/07\/madras-hc-grants-relief-to-indonesian-spa-therapist-booked-under-immoral-traffic-prevention-act-rebukes-police-for-colourable-exercise-of-power\/","url_meta":{"origin":359591,"position":5},"title":"Madras HC | Relief to Indonesian spa therapist booked under Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act; Police rebuked for colourable exercise of power","author":"Bhumika Indulia","date":"January 7, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cUrgent need to get out of the preconditioned mind of the majority who unfortunately see Spas and Massage Centres as brothel houses.\u201d Madras High Court: The Bench of N. 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