History of Indian courts ruling in favour of sex workers

Read about past rulings by Indian courts in favour of sex workers.

The Supreme Court issued a landmark order on Thursday stating that prostitution is a legal profession and sex workers must be treated with dignity. It also instructed police to avoid interfering and pursuing criminal action against consenting sex workers. However, this is not the first time that an Indian court has ruled in favour of sex workers.

Let us take a look at what the courts have said in favour of sex workers over the years.

In Budhadev Karmaskar vs state of West Bengal, the Supreme Court ruled on February 2011 that sex workers have a right to dignity.

"We are of the view that sex workers have a right to live with dignity under Article 21 [right to life] of the Constitution since they are also human beings and their concerns need to be addressed," Justices Markandey Katju and Gyan Sudha Misra wrote in their decision on February 14, 2011.

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In August 2019, the Calcutta High Court stated that under the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956, no sex worker exploited for commercial sex can be tried as an accused unless there is substantial evidence that she was a "co-conspirator" in the crime. It also instructed investigating authorities to recognise sex workers as victims in cases under the act, saying, “In the course of an investigation, no sex worker exploited shall be arrayed as an accused.”

The directives were issued on August 8, 2019 during the hearing of an anticipatory bail application by the proprietor of a wellness spa where sexual exploitation of women, including a minor, allegedly occurred. The bail request was later denied by the court.