“Any sex worker, being an adult and indulging in sexual activity with his/her own consent, the police authorities should refrain from taking action against such individuals,” Justice N Sathish Kumar ruled.
The judge made these observations on allowing a criminal original petition filed by a petitioner named Udhaya Kumar.
The petitioner who is an accused in the brothel case prayed for a direction to quash the criminal case filed against him by the Anti-Vice Squad ā II, Chennai City Crime Branch (CCB) for allegedly caught while he was indulged in the sexual act during a raid in a massage centre.
However, the petitionerās counsel D Prasanna Kumar submitted that his client was not involved in any such action and the FIR was filed against him merely on the ground that he was present in the center.
āEven if the entire allegations are taken together, it would not attract any offense. Doing sex work is not illegal and only running a brothel is illegal, ā the advocate submitted.
Concurring with the lawyer, the judge held that the act of the petitioner also cannot be said to be an act of pressurising the sex workers to commit acts, in which they were not interested.