Bombay High Court refuses to quash plaint against Khar boutique owner

The Bombay high court recently dismissed a petition filed by a Khar-based boutique owner seeking quashing of a complaint lodged by a 27-year-old fashion designer against her.

The fashion designer alleged that she was forced into prostitution by Anjali Vinod Kumar Agarwal alias Anju luring her with a lucrative job in Dubai. The woman was allegedly raped by 13 men during her 25-day stay in Dubai last year.

The victim, who is a diploma holder in fashion designing, is a a resident of Goregaon (West). The accused allegedly took her to Dubai and forced her into prostitution. After somehow returning to Mumbai, she lodged a complaint with the Khar police. The police registered and a case under section 376 (rape).

While dismissing the petition, a division bench of Justice VM Kanade and Justice PD Kode, said: "If the complaint of this nature is quashed on frivolous submissions, which are made across the bar, it would be an abuse of the process of law."

"It is immaterial whether petitioner is a tax payer and has a shop at Khar (West). It is possible that the said shop may be used for the purpose of carrying out all these activities of human trafficking, and therefore, we feel that police should thoroughly investigate the crime and ensure that no innocent women/girls are lured and trafficked in this manner," the bench added.

The court also dismissed the argument offered by the accused on grounds of maintainability of the complainant, stating that the cause of action had arisen in Dubai and complaint cannot be lodged in India.

The bench said: "Though some of the incidents have taken place in Dubai, part of cause of action has arisen in Mumbai where representation was made and assurance was given to the complainant that she would be given a decent job in Dubai. The allegation is of human trafficking, which is a serious, cognizable offence, and therefore, in our view the Khar police station was perfectly justified in registering the offence."

As per the complaint, the accused told the victim that she had a boutique in Dubai and that she was looking for sales person there. The victim was offered a salary of Rs4 lakh per month along with other facilities.

However, when the victim reached Dubai on June 1 last year, Anjali confiscated her passport. On June 2, four men barged into her apartment and allegedly raped her. On occasions, when she refused to bow down to Anjali's demands, she was assaulted.