Massage parlours, spas, therapeutic treatment, beauty parlours, wellness centres, unisex salons and health clubs - call them by any name, but police and other authorities cannot interfere in their functioning without first making a law either to permit or regulate such entities, the Madras high court ruled on Wednesday.
Justice V Ramasubramanian, coming to the rescue of a batch of petitions from those who promote this business in Chennai, said: "It is quite unfortunate that the very word 'massage' has come to be looked down upon due to the abuse of these centres by a few individuals. Therefore, it may be necessary for the government to regulate, by law, the industry and provide certain basic parameters."
He then said the authorities shall not, as a matter of routine and without any basis, conduct any raids and interfere with the business carried on by the petitioners.
He passed the orders after massage parlour and spa owners complained that they were being subjected to raids, on a regular basis, by officials of the Anti-Vice Squad (AVS) of the Chennai police.
Claiming that such raids and the frequent interference by the police not only spoiled their business, but also projected them in poor light and that it also amounted to an interference with their fundamental right to carry on a lawful business, they moved the court for relief.
They all heavily relied on Justice K Chandru's July 2009 judgment that majoritarian impulses rooted in moralistic tradition could not impinge upon individual autonomy. However, He had added a word of caution that there was no prohibition for police to inspect and take appropriate action in cases of criminal activities.
On Wednesday, pointing out that police neither had a specific law to act upon or acted according to the provisions laid down in the available law, Justice Ramasubramanian held that they could invoke provisions of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act in specific cases and complaints by following all the mandatory steps mentioned in the law.
According to the Act, a special police officer or a trafficking police officer can enter upon any premises and cause a search without warrant, only if he had reasonable grounds for believing that an offence punishable under the Act was being committed. He must believe that the search of the premises with warrant cannot be made without undue delay and that he must record the grounds of his belief before entering the premises. He should also be accompanied by neutral witnesses.
Narrating the legislative measures specifically addressing all possible contours of the wellness and massage business in places like Thailand, Singapore, various states in America and the Philippines, Justice Ramasubramanian said: "India itself has a potential to develop this industry in view of the availability of experts in the field of yoga, naturopathy, ayurveda, siddha and varma, who are well trained to provide health care services."
If, as in the case of other countries, qualifications are prescribed for persons engaged to render services in these centres, this industry may develop as one that complements alternative systems of indigenous medicine, he said.
"If health clubs, massage centres and spas are properly regulated and if qualifications are fixed for persons employed therein to render services, they would provide enormous employment opportunities to students coming out of colleges teaching alternative, indigenous systems of medicine," Justice Ramasubramanian said.
"This will also remove the kind of stigma now sought to be attached to these centres. As a matter of fact, specialists in the art and science of varma, which is now slowly getting extinct (with probably a few individuals still left in places like Kanyakumari), can do wonders in massage centers. Therefore, regulating the industry of health clubs, massage centres and spas and prescribing qualifications for persons employed therein, would make the industry, a place for the highly skilled and professionalized one," he said.
As a solution, he said the Chennai Corporation could invoke its rule-making powers and include the wellness business specifying the activities for which business licences are applied for and issued.
Article referred: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/Madras-high-court-bans-arbitrary-police-raids-on-massage-parlours-spas/articleshow/45546604.cms
Justice V Ramasubramanian, coming to the rescue of a batch of petitions from those who promote this business in Chennai, said: "It is quite unfortunate that the very word 'massage' has come to be looked down upon due to the abuse of these centres by a few individuals. Therefore, it may be necessary for the government to regulate, by law, the industry and provide certain basic parameters."
He then said the authorities shall not, as a matter of routine and without any basis, conduct any raids and interfere with the business carried on by the petitioners.
He passed the orders after massage parlour and spa owners complained that they were being subjected to raids, on a regular basis, by officials of the Anti-Vice Squad (AVS) of the Chennai police.
Claiming that such raids and the frequent interference by the police not only spoiled their business, but also projected them in poor light and that it also amounted to an interference with their fundamental right to carry on a lawful business, they moved the court for relief.
They all heavily relied on Justice K Chandru's July 2009 judgment that majoritarian impulses rooted in moralistic tradition could not impinge upon individual autonomy. However, He had added a word of caution that there was no prohibition for police to inspect and take appropriate action in cases of criminal activities.
On Wednesday, pointing out that police neither had a specific law to act upon or acted according to the provisions laid down in the available law, Justice Ramasubramanian held that they could invoke provisions of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act in specific cases and complaints by following all the mandatory steps mentioned in the law.
According to the Act, a special police officer or a trafficking police officer can enter upon any premises and cause a search without warrant, only if he had reasonable grounds for believing that an offence punishable under the Act was being committed. He must believe that the search of the premises with warrant cannot be made without undue delay and that he must record the grounds of his belief before entering the premises. He should also be accompanied by neutral witnesses.
Narrating the legislative measures specifically addressing all possible contours of the wellness and massage business in places like Thailand, Singapore, various states in America and the Philippines, Justice Ramasubramanian said: "India itself has a potential to develop this industry in view of the availability of experts in the field of yoga, naturopathy, ayurveda, siddha and varma, who are well trained to provide health care services."
If, as in the case of other countries, qualifications are prescribed for persons engaged to render services in these centres, this industry may develop as one that complements alternative systems of indigenous medicine, he said.
"If health clubs, massage centres and spas are properly regulated and if qualifications are fixed for persons employed therein to render services, they would provide enormous employment opportunities to students coming out of colleges teaching alternative, indigenous systems of medicine," Justice Ramasubramanian said.
"This will also remove the kind of stigma now sought to be attached to these centres. As a matter of fact, specialists in the art and science of varma, which is now slowly getting extinct (with probably a few individuals still left in places like Kanyakumari), can do wonders in massage centers. Therefore, regulating the industry of health clubs, massage centres and spas and prescribing qualifications for persons employed therein, would make the industry, a place for the highly skilled and professionalized one," he said.
As a solution, he said the Chennai Corporation could invoke its rule-making powers and include the wellness business specifying the activities for which business licences are applied for and issued.
Article referred: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/Madras-high-court-bans-arbitrary-police-raids-on-massage-parlours-spas/articleshow/45546604.cms
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