A ‘client’ may be charged with a crime for indulging in prostitution, the Kerala High Court said on Wednesday. Appellant Mathew was presenting his case before Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas’ single-judge bench. Mathew filed a court motion arguing that he cannot be charged with soliciting sexual services at a brothel. He was charged with violating the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act of 1956 for hiring a sex worker at an ayurvedic hospital.
A client seeking the services of a sex worker was criminally liable under ITP Act, the Supreme Court has ruled. The Act penalises ‘living on the earnings of prostitution’, ‘seducing or soliciting for purpose of prostitution’ and ‘procuring, inducing or taking (a person) for the sake of prostitution’. Earlier this year, the court passed an order recognising sex work as a ‘profession’.
This does not apply to the customer vs. Rules in Section 7
The ITP Act’s Section 7 renders prostitution illegal in several locations, including houses of worship and educational facilities. Both the individual ‘with whom’ prostitution is ‘carried on’ and the person ‘who carries on’ the conduct are covered. Mathew’s attorney said that even if the accusations against his client were genuine, he could not be charged under section 7 since it does not use the word ‘customer’.
‘Umbrella statute’, object to counter trafficking
Section 7 (1) of the International Trade Prohibition (ITP) applies to both the person who carries on’ prostitution and the person with whom such prostitution is carried out, the Court of Appeal has ruled. Justice Thomas said that the provision must be read in the context of prostitution, which means sexual exploitation or abuse for commercial purposes.
The bench rejected the judgments relied on by the petitioners and said that they did not consider the issue at hand. ‘Prostitution cannot be carried on without a ‘customer’ and to achieve the object of the legislation, the customer must be covered by the provision’, Justice Thomas said.
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