Woman Accused Of Running Brothel Can’t Be Let Off Only Because Victim Is Illegal Bangladeshi Immigrant, Says Bombay HC

The Bombay High Court held that an Indian citizen accused of running a brothel and forcing a woman into prostitution cannot be spared of punishment merely because the woman is allegedly an illegal immigrant from Bangladesh.

Justice MM Sathaye said on Thursday that this would be “nothing but victim shaming” and held that merely because the woman is accused of being an illegal immigrant, it would not lessen the offence against her. Such an argument “must be rejected at the threshold”, Justice Sathaye said.

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The court went on to uphold the conviction of a woman named Rani Singh under the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956. The High Court also upheld the sentences of two years’ imprisonment and three years’ imprisonment under separate provisions of the Act, which were directed to run concurrently.

‘Victim also a human being’

Justice Sathaye said that the argument that Singh should not be punished because the victim is allegedly a Bangladeshi immigrant was “completely misconceived” and was based on a convoluted idea about prosecution. He said that such a contention “completely ignores the fact that the…victim is also a human being”.

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The legal system “cannot permit an immigration label to become a licence for indignity,” the judge observed. “The Court must not allow a human being to disappear behind the labels such as ‘illegal immigrant’, ‘sex worker’, or ‘rescued woman’. Each label may have its own legal consequence, but none extinguishes dignity of a victim and protection from trafficking,” he said.

Witness testimonies

The judge also rejected the applicant’s argument about the alleged absence of independent witnesses. Singh had contended that witnesses such as a member of a non-governmental organisation who tipped off the police were “interested witnesses”, and that their testimony was, therefore, not reliable.

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“...In cases like these, where raids are conducted on brothels and known-places of prostitution, it is obvious that independent witnesses from the Society will not be available,” the judgement noted. “Persons who are volunteering, such as the witnesses connected with an NGO, as in the present case, will have to be taken aid of.”

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