Prostitution Not Criminal Offence, Its Public Solicitation Is: Bombay High Court

Mumbai, September 26: Prostitution is not a criminal offence, but its public solicitation is, the Bombay High Court has said. Justice Prithviraj Chavan of Bombay High Court made the observations while setting aside lower courts' orders that detained three women in a corrective home for almost a year. The women were picked by police as "victims" and their pimp was arrested following a raid at a guest house in Malad last year. Bombay High Court Fines Woman Rs 25,000 for False Rape Complaint Against Her Boyfriend.

A magistrate court in Mazgaon and the Dindoshi sessions court sent the three women in a corrective home. The women, through advocate Ashok Saraogi, had challenged the lower courts' orders. After hearing the case, the Bombay High Court quashed the orders as being "bad in law". The court held that the women were adults when picked up by police and holding fundamental right to choose their own vocation. Freedom of Speech And Expression Not an Absolute Right: Bombay High Court.

"What is punishable under the Act is sexual exploitation or abuse of person for commercial purpose and to earn the bread, except where a person is carrying on prostitution in a public place or is found soliciting or seducing another person," Justice Prithviraj Chavan was quoted by TOI as ordering on Thursday. He added that even the magistrate appears to have been "swayed by the fact that the petitioners belong to a particular caste".

The judge also pointed out at loopholes in the police report regarding the raid during which the three women were detained. He noted that the magistrate failed to inquire whether the alleged pimp was running a brothel or procuring women.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 26, 2020 01:17 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).