Thane: A sessions court acquitted a spa manager accused of running a prostitution racket and trafficking women, citing a lack of evidence and the prosecution’s failure to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.The case dated back to December 9, 2020, when the Anti-Human Trafficking Cell of Thane police raided a Spa Naturopathy and Hypnosis Centre in the Kopari area following a tip-off that prostitution was allegedly being carried out on the premises. Police claimed the manager supplied women for sexual services in exchange for money and arrested him the next day.During the trial, the prosecution examined 5 witnesses, including a police informant, a decoy customer, panch witnesses, and investigating officers. However, the court observed that the prosecution failed to examine any of the alleged victims to establish charges of trafficking or prostitution. The court noted that statements recorded under Section 164 of the CrPC showed that the women engaged in massage and acupressure services and did not allege coercion or sexual exploitation.Additional Sessions Judge GT Pawar, while delivering the judgment on January 28, 2026, held that essential ingredients required to attract offences under Section 370 of the IPC—such as recruitment, coercion, inducement, or exploitation—were not proved. Similarly, the court found no material to establish that the accused managed a brothel, lived off the earnings of prostitution, or procured women for sexual exploitation under the PITA Act.“The prosecution failed to establish that the victims were trafficked or forced into prostitution,” the court observed, granting the accused the benefit of doubt and acquitting him of all charges.The court ordered disposal of seized electronic devices and cash as per procedure and directed that the accused furnish a personal bond under Section 437-A of the CrPC.
