The Madras High Court held that the police have no right to prevent a health spa from being run by any citizen of the country, even if services are offered by members of the opposite sex.
The Madras High Court today held that the city police have no legal right to prevent a health spa from being run by any citizen of the country, even if services are offered by members of the opposite sex.
Granting an interim injunction on an application by M/s Influence Lifestyle Stores Private Ltd seeking to restraining the police from 'interfering with the peaceful conduct of the business, offering various spa therapies, for both sexes by members belonging to both sexes', justice K Chandru held that there is no law regulating the field.
The justice cited judgments of the Supreme Court to show that "a majoritarian impulse rooted in moralistic tradition cannot impinge upon individual autonomy".
At the same time, he said, the police are entitled to inspect such premises and take action according to the law in cases of any criminal activity prohibited by law.
The justice referred to an earlier judgment of the Madras High Court while dealing with the power of the police to curb immoral and indecent activities. That order held that "dehors [outside] the powers vested by the legislative assembly, they [the police] cannot curb any activities as being immoral and courts cannot clothe them with such powers".
The city's police commissioner, in a counter affidavit, had said that the blanket restraining order sought by the applicant was only to engage young girls to attract more youth. With teenage girls being employed at the spa, there was the possibility of men of 'questionable character' and anti-social elements being attracted to the parlour, resulting in unwarranted problems and immoral activities, the commissioner said.
The affidavit said there was reason to suspect that the applicant was planning to indulge in unusual and unhealthy activities. But the justice pointed out that the special government pleader was unable to point out any specific legal provision under the Madras City Police Act which obliges a spa centre to be licensed by the police commissioner.
The company had filed the civil suit for a mandatory injunction to direct the state to formulate rules for conducting spa centres and for a permanent injunction to restrain the respondents from interfering with the peaceful conduct of its business.
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