The Gujarat High Court has quashed an FIR against a man found at a hotel allegedly operating as a brothel, holding that a customer cannot automatically be prosecuted for keeping the premises or procuring women for prostitution.
The Court examined Sections 3, 5, 7 and 9 of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act. It found no allegation that the applicant managed the establishment, procured any person, exercised authority over a woman, or aided her seduction for prostitution.
Presence as a customer did not satisfy those statutory elements. The ruling applies offence-specific liability and rejects the use of provisions aimed at operators, procurers or persons in authority against an individual merely found during a raid.
