Crl. O.P. No. 11322 of 2012. Case: Pavithra @ Swathi Vs The Inspector of Police, J 8 Neelankarai Police Station, Chennai, The Superintendent, Government Vigilance Home/Government Protective Home, Arasinar Magalir Kappagam, Mylapore, Chennai -4. High Court of Madras (India)
| Case Number | Crl. O.P. No. 11322 of 2012 |
| Counsel | For Appellant: Mr. M. Hussaini Basha, Adv. and For Respondents: Mr. M. Maharaja, Addl. Public Prosecutor |
| Judges | S. Nagamuthu, J. |
| Issue | Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 - Sections 482, 483; Constitution of India - Article 21; Immoral Traffic (prevention) Act, 1956 - Section 17(4) |
| Citation | 2012 (2) LW 50 (Crl) |
| Judgement Date | June 19, 2012 |
| Court | High Court of Madras (India) |
Order:
S. Nagamuthu, J.
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Poverty is no sin. It is agonising that the haves, at times, sin the poor by turning their nelson's eye to their miseries. The story of the petitioner is an illustration of the latter. This young woman, born to poor parents, married at an young age, but deserted by her husband, having a child, under the guise of offering a decent domestic job, was taken to Chennai and attempted to be pushed into immoral trafficking, but, fortunately, rescued by the police. She has been in Protective Home for the past 34 months on the repeated orders of the Magistrate. Seeking to set aside the proceedings of the learned Judicial Magistrate and to set her at liberty, the petitioner has come up with this petition. The facts of the case would be as follows:
(i) On 31.07.2009 at about 10 p.m., the Inspector of Police, Neelankarai Police Station, received information from a Head Constable by name Sundaresan by way of special report, in which, he had stated that one Mr. Kaleshah was found acting as a broker and he had promised to identify the place of prostitution. Based on the same, the Inspector of Police took the police team and Kaleshah. Kaleshah identified a house at Palavakkam as a brothel house. Later, when the Inspector of Police and other police officials entered into the same, two persons were found acting as brokers by name Maboobi @ Blessy and Kaleshah. When they searched into the house, according to the Inspector, three women were found in the house, who had been kept to be involved in prostitution. It is alleged that the petitioner was one among the women. The Inspector of Police arrested the accused Maboobi @ Blessy and Kaleshah and rescued the three victims including the petitioner.
(ii) From the records, it could be seen that the accused were produced before the learned Judicial Magistrate, Alandur and later on, they were released on bail. So far, final report has not been filed against them. So far as the victims are concerned, on 03.08.2009, they were produced before the learned Judicial Magistrate, Alandur with a request to keep them in Protective Home. The learned Magistrate accordingly passed an order, authorising her to be kept in the Home till 14.08.2009. Thereafter, periodically she was produced before the learned Magistrate and the learned Magistrate in turn, extended the detention of the petitioner in the Home. In such a way, till today, the petitioner is languishing in the Home.
(iii) From the records, it could also be seen that the petitioner hails from Venkatagiri Village, Nellore District. When the petitioner was so languishing in the Protective Home, her father took pains to come all the way to the State of Tamil Nadu and to file a petition before the learned Judicial Magistrate, Alandur seeking the release of the petitioner from the Home. That petition was not disposed of forthwith and the same was kept for a considerable time without any order being passed. While so, unfortunately, the father of the petitioner also passed away. The petitioner's mother is an old woman, who lives in poverty and she was unable to come over to Tamil Nadu to make any effort to get her daughter released. She is an illiterate woman, having no wherewithal even to travel to Tamil Nadu. It is stated that the petitioner got married long before and she has got a child. But unfortunately, her husband has also deserted her. The child is now with her husband. According to the petitioner, in this poverty stricken position, she came down to Tamil Nadu in search of a job as a domestic servant. Bui unfortunately, according to her, she was forced into the brothel home, from where she was rescued by the police.
(iv) After having spent a long period of two years and 8 months in the Home, fortunately, when an N.G.O. used to visit the Home for the purpose of counselling, the petitioner expressed her agony to her. Ms. Tahera, a representative of the said N.G.O., responded to her distress call. Thereafter, the N.G.O. has taken efforts to engage a counsel to file the instant petition before this Court...
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