Overview
- The court allowed a petition and quashed the charge sheet, summoning order and criminal proceedings against the petitioner in Nitin v. State of U.P., a judgment delivered on August 11.
- Justice Gautam Chowdhary held that paying for personal sexual gratification does not amount to 'procurement for the purpose of prostitution' under the Act because that phrase requires evidence of commercial exploitation.
- The case arose from a police raid in December 2023 on a house near DLF police chowki, Bhojpura crossing, Ghaziabad, where 16 people were arrested and a charge sheet was filed under Sections 3, 4, 5 and 7 of the ITPA.
- The petitioner argued and the court noted procedural safeguards and precedent, citing Section 15(2) and earlier Allahabad High Court authority in Dinesh Tiwari, and found continuing prosecution would amount to misuse of court process.
- The ruling narrows the reach of the ITPA for customers and may prompt prosecutors to focus on those who run or profit from brothels, while leaving open appellate review and separate action against managers or exploiters.