PREM SHAKTI Vs. STATE OF DELHI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) DR. Prem Shakti has moved this petition under Article 277 of the Constitution of india read with Section 561-A of the Code of Criminal Procedure praying for quashing of the proceedings started against her under Section 18/20 of the suppression of Immoral Traffic in Women and Girls Act, 1956.

(2.) THE petitioner claims herself to be a doctor running a clinic at her residence m8/a. Greater Kailash, New Delhi along with her husband Dr. Gobind Shakti, who is also alleged to be a doctor. It is alleged that she is the joint secretary of the main market association of the Greater Kailash Market, New Delhi, and that due to political enmity and differences between the landlords and tenants of Greater kailash a group of the landlords had lodged a false report with the police regarding the activities of the petitioner on the basis of which the Magistrate has summoned her. A copy of the report lodged by the residents of the locality has been annexed to the petition This shows that the persons living in the neighbourhood of the petitioner had alleged that the premises were being used by the petitioner and her husband for immoral purposes. The police seems to have forwarded this report to the Magistrate for taking action with their report. The following order was passed by the learned Magistrate on 245-7-1970.

(3.) THE learned counsel for the petitioner contends that the Magistrate is required under sub-section (1) of Section 20 of the Suppression of Immoral Traffic in women and Girls Act, 1956 to record the substance of the information received and after having done so only then he has jurisdiction to issue the notice. In the present case no such substance of the information having been recorded, summoning the petitioner to contends that in view of a Divisin Bench judgment of the Punjab High Court in Mst. Ram Kali V. A. C. Agarwal, Air 1964 Punj 518, the magistrate has no jurisdiction to issue notice under Section 18 of the Suppression of Immoral Traffic in Women and Girls Act only.