After much consideration of the 70-year-old Immoral Traffic Prevention Act (ITPA), the Supreme Court has ruled that the main objective of this law is neither to end prostitution nor to criminalize it, but to prevent its commercialization.
A bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan said that we are convinced that the main objective of this Act is not to eradicate prostitution or to make it a criminal offence. Rather, it aims to prevent or eliminate the commercialization of prostitution, i.e. prostitution as a means of organized livelihood.
Trafficking in women was common in the 20th century
Considering the issue of rehabilitation of women rescued from brothels, the bench analyzed the 1956 Act and said that in the early 20th century, trafficking of women for prostitution was common and considered immoral, hence the term got added to the law
Supreme Court guidelines regarding prostitution
Recently, Supreme Court guidelines said that the police should refrain from interfering in the cases of adult sex workers who work voluntarily or taking criminal action against them. Sex workers should not be arrested, punished or harassed and their identities should be kept confidential during police raids.
Adult sex workers cannot be detained or rescued against their will and cannot be kept in secure custody. The Court has placed special emphasis on victim-centred rehabilitation while respecting the choices of sex workers.