Unwed couples staying in hotel room is no crime, says Madras HC
Chennai, Dec 7: Observing that a live-in relationship of two adults is not deemed to be an offence, the Madras High Court has said terming the occupation of a hotel room by such unmarried couples will not attract a criminal offence.
"Apparently, there are no laws or regulations forbearing unmarried persons of the opposite sex to occupy hotel rooms as guests," Justice M S Ramesh said in a recent order.
He made the observations while directing authorities to de-seal a hire service apartment in Coimbatore, which was closed after a police and revenue team conducted a search following complaints of alleged immoral activities and found an unmarried couple and some liquor bottles in a room there in June this year.
While live-in-relationship of two adults was not deemed to be a crime, the occupation of hotel room by an unmarried couple would not attract an offence, the Judge said.
While that being so, the extreme step of sealing the premises on the ground that an unmarried couple was occupying the premises is totally illegal in the absence of any law prohibiting the same, he said.
According to the petitioner, the "My preferred Transformation and Hospitality Private Limited" of Gurgaon in Haryana, it was running Hire Service apartment at the premises in Coimbatore.
A search was conducted on the premises by a team from the office of the Tahsildar and local police on June 25 last. The team found liquor bottles in one of the rooms occupied by the guests and in one room two adults who were not married were staying.
The premises came to be sealed by the team without any written order against which the present petition was filed.
The petitioner contended that there was no justification on the part of the authorities in not giving them an opportunity to put forth their objections. Sealing of the premises without any order was a violation of the principles of natural justice.
The petition said such an action has been taken based on the viral news spread on the social media about the premises.
The prosecution said the petitioner's premises had not obtained Form D and without details of the guests in the booking registers, illegal activities by the guests were permitted.
In view of the objections from the neighbouring womenfolk, action was taken against the petitioner.
Justice Ramesh said it was not in dispute that the petitioner had not been put on notice prior to the sealing of the premises and no explanation was called for.
Particularly, in the background of the present case that alleged immoral activities in the premises may not be an offence, it would have been just and proper for the respondents to be called for explanation before taking any coercive steps against the petitioner, the judge said.
"The entire episode of sealing the premises is in total violation of the principles of natural justice," he said.
Noting that the state law allowed possession of stipulated quantities of liquor by an individual, the Judge said the consumption of liquor by the guests on the petitioners premises cannot also be termed as illegal.
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AIITA welcomes Karnataka’s ban on obscene songs in school events
Bhatkal: The Karnataka unit of the All India Ideal Teachers Association (AIITA) has welcomed the Karnataka government’s decision to strictly ban school children from dancing to obscene songs during educational and cultural programmes in government, aided, and private schools across the state.
AIITA Karnataka State President M. R. Manvi congratulated the government for taking what he termed an important step to preserve the sanctity of education.
“Such decisions to safeguard the dignity of school children and uphold the values of education are the need of the hour. This rule should not be limited to government schools alone but must be strictly implemented in all private educational institutions as well,” he said.
He further urged the government to address other concerns within school programmes.
“The government should not only prohibit obscene dances in the name of school anniversaries, but also ensure that plays and dialogues that incite religious hatred are avoided. Schools should be centres of harmony, not platforms for spreading hatred,” he added.
According to a recent circular issued by the Department of School Education and Literacy, obscene dances are adversely affecting the mental health and moral values of students.
In this regard, schools have been advised to use songs that promote nationalism, positive thinking, the greatness of Kannada culture, and value-based traditions instead of inappropriate content during programmes.
The circular also emphasises that students should be dressed in decent attire.
AIITA also backed the department’s warning that disciplinary action would be taken against head teachers if such guidelines are violated. The association has further demanded that district Deputy Directors of Public Instruction strictly monitor the implementation of these rules.
