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The Kerala High Court has held that individuals who avail the services of sex workers in brothels can be prosecuted under the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 (ITP Act) for inducing prostitution. Justice VG Arun emphasized that sex workers must not be treated as commodities, and persons seeking such services are active participants in the exploitation of sex workers, facilitating commercial sexual abuse and human trafficking. The Court clarified that the payment made for such services is not a mere transaction but is effectively an inducement compelling the sex worker to continue prostitution.

The case arose from a 2021 police raid in Thiruvananthapuram, which uncovered a brothel managed by two individuals who procured women for prostitution and collected payments from clients. The petitioner, charged under multiple sections of the ITP Act, including those relating to brothel keeping and living off the earnings of prostitution, argued that he was merely a customer availing the services of sex workers who canvassed for clients and did not induce or procure them.

The Court distinguished between offences targeting brothel keepers and those living off prostitution, and the issue of customer liability under Section 5(1)(d) of the ITP Act. It ruled that paying for sexual services in a brothel amounts to inducing prostitution under the statute and thus attracts prosecution.

While proceedings against the petitioner under Sections 3 and 4 (related to brothel keeping and living on prostitution earnings) were quashed, the Court upheld prosecution under Sections 5(1)(d) and 7 (related to prostitution near public places) of the ITP Act. The judgment aligns with the objective of the Act to prevent human trafficking and to protect sex workers coerced into prostitution rather than criminalizing them.

This ruling underscores that persons who avail sex work services in brothels are not mere customers but contributors to exploitation, reinforcing legal measures against human trafficking and commercial sexual abuse. The Court’s approach aims to ensure accountability for inducement of prostitution while safeguarding the rights of vulnerable sex workers.