Summary:
The Sessions court has dropped the charges of running a prostitution racket against a 38-year-old man after observing that the police were unable to produce any independent witness. This prompted Gouda to move the Sessions court, which found the evidence highly unreliable and acquitted Gouda. Gouda was earlier convicted by a lower court and sentenced to a year in jail along with a fine of Rs 2000. The court held that the police had used a panch witness who had appeared on their behalf in several similar cases and it had no reason to believe his testimony as well as the cops' theory. Apart from pointing to the serial witness, the court held that it was very essential for the police to follow the guidelines laid under the Prevention of Immoral Trafficking activities (PITA) Act, It said the cops had blatantly violated the law..