Occupation of hotel room by an Unmarried Couple is not a Criminal Offence: Madras High Court

Kritika Pandey | Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda | 1st January 2020

Mypreferred Transformation and Hospitality Pvt. Ltd. Vs. The District Collector, WP No. 31230 of 2019

FACTS:

• The petitioner in this case was running a service apartment in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. A search was conducted in the premises by a team from the office of the Tahsildar, Peelamedu Police Station. During the course of such search, it is stated that certain liquor bottles were found inside one of the rooms occupied by the guests and in one room two adults, male and female, who were not married with each other were staying. The premises came to be sealed by the Team without any written order which has prompted the petitioner to file the present Writ Petition.

PETITIONER CONTENTION:

• There was no justification on the part of the respondents in not giving them an opportunity to put forth their objections and sealing of the premises without any order being served on them. It is violation of the Principles of natural justice.
• They had not served or sold liquors in the premises and if there was any liquor bottles in the rooms of the guests, such bottles could have been brought by the guests themselves, to which, the petitioner cannot have a check over the same. 

RESPONDENT CONTENTION:

• The learned Additional Public Prosecutor submitted that the petitioner’s premises had not obtained ‘Form D’ of the Revenue Department.The details of the guests is not written in the Booking Registers and they are permitting illegal activities by the guests. In view of the objections from the neighboring womenfolk, action has been requested to be taken against the petitioner.

HELD:

• Apparently, there are no laws or regulations forbearing unmarried persons of opposite sex to occupy hotel rooms, as guests. While live-in-relationship of two adults is not deemed to be an offence. While that being so, the extreme step of sealing the premises on the ground that an unmarried couple were occupying the premises, is totally illegal in the absence of any law prohibiting the same.

• As Under, The Tamil Nadu Liquor (Possession for Personal Consumption) Rules, 1996,(hereafter referred as Act) permits any individual person to possess various types of liquor in specified quantities. Rule (2) of the Act prohibits possession of the following liquors for personal consumption, over and above the quantity extracted hereunder:

The above restriction thereby entitles a person to hold possession of the aforesaid four categories of liquors to the quantities mention therein, within the State of Tamil Nadu.

The consumption of liquor by the guests in the petitioner premises cannot also be termed as illegal.

• Assuming that such lacuna were discovered by the authorities, these can only termed as infirmities, which required to be addressed by calling for explanation from the petitioner and thereafter take further course of action, thereby adhering to the principles of natural justice.
• Since the entire action of sealing the petitioner’s hotel without following the principles of natural justice is illegal.
• The Writ Petition stands allowed. Consequently, the first respondent herein is directed to unseal the petitioner’s premises within a period of two days from the date of receipt of copy of this order.