State appeal fails against acquittal in Vasco paid-sex case
The High Court of Bombay at Goa dismissed the State's appeal against the acquittal of a woman in Vasco tried for living on a sex worker's earnings and procuring her. The Court recorded that the adult woman had expressed willingness, travelled to Goa on her own, and never said she was forced. The acquittal under the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act was upheld.
This page records what the cited court records say happened. Findings belong to the court or authority that made them; this register adds none of its own. Names of private individuals are withheld unless a naming gate clears them.
How we verify →The acquittal stands after the High Court dismissed the State's appeal on 8 August 2025.
What happened
The High Court recorded that the charge was that since 26.12.2012 at Vasco the accused had been living on the earnings of the prostitution of an adult woman, and had procured her with a promise of payment per day and hourly and nightly rates.
The High Court recorded that the woman was aged 25 to 30, had expressed her willingness to be in the prostitution business, reached Goa on her own by train, was taken to Vasco, and had not objected nor made any grievance that she was forced into prostitution.
The High Court recorded that the trial court had convicted the accused by judgment and order dated 9.5.2014 under Sections 4 and 5, that the appellate court reversed that conviction and acquitted, and that the prosecution had failed to establish the ingredients of the provisions by cogent evidence.
The High Court concluded that the appellate court's conclusion could not be called totally unfounded and dismissed the State's appeal as without merit.
No complaining victim
The case punished arranging paid sex between consenting adults; the Court recorded an adult who expressed willingness and alleged no force, so the act had no complaining victim.
What we could not confirm
The trial court's original sentence could not be confirmed from the available excerpt. No more recent (2026) Goa ITP Act judgment was found on Indian Kanoon.