JOHN Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE learned Second Presidency Magistrate, G. T. Madras convicted and sentenced three persons as follows:

(2.) ACCUSED 1 to 3 were convicted under Section 3 (1) of the Suppression of Immoral Traffic in Women and Girls Act 1956 for the offence of keeping a brothel at a premises in C. p. Ram swami Iyer Road, Millipore, Madras. Each of them was sentenced to R. I. for one year. Accused 3 was further charged under Section 3 (2) (a) of the Act, for having allowed accused 1 and 2 to use the upstairs portion of the said premises as a brothel, convicted and sentenced to R. I. for one year, to run concurrently with the sentence on the first charge. They have appealed against the convictions and sentences.

(3.) THE facts of the prosecution case are briefly the following. Accused 2, Sayeeda, is the wife of accused 3. Accused 1 is their servant. P. W. 1 who is a broker in the sale and purchase of sheep and goats, was stopped near the Wellington Talkies at about 9-30 a. m. on the day of occurrence (14-7-1963) by a stranger who apparently acted as a pimp. After persuading P. W. 1 that he could have sexual intercourse with an attractive girl, the aforesaid stranger took P. W. 1 in a taxi to the premises in C. P. Ram swami Iyer Road, where accused 2 and 3 were living at that time. Accused 3 was absent. P. W. 1 met at the foot of the staircase of the house, the servant, accused 1, who was informed by the pimp about the purpose for which P. W. 1 had arrived there. Accused 1 demanded Rs. 150 but P. W. 1 was prepared to offer only Rs. 100, While some bargaining was going on in this manner accused 2 appeared and said that it would suffice if Rs. 100 was Riven as offered by P. W. 1. Then accused 1 received Rs. 100 from P. W. 1 and handed it over to accused 2 who paid Rs. 20 to the pimp for his trouble and then she and P. W. 1 climbed the staircase and had intercourse on a verandah in the up stair room. Accused 2 kept the sum of Rs. 80 given by P, W. 1 folded under her pillow at that time. Just at this juncture P. W. 5 the Assistant Commissioner of Police, Vigilance, along with other Policemen and P. W. 2 arrived at the scene and surprised the couple while they were arranging their dresses. On the arrival of the police, accused 1 the servant called out accused 2 from downstairs by her name. On the demand of P. W. 5, accused 2 produced Rs. 80 given by P. W. 1.