MORAL POLICING
Why can’t unmarried couple share a hotel room, asks high court
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Chennai:08.12.2019
When a live-in relationship between two adults is not deemed an offence, how can the occupation of a hotel room by an unmarried couple be considered a crime?
Posing this question to the Coimbatore district administration which sealed a service apartment in the city after finding that an unmarried couple had occupied a room and consumed liquor there, the Madras high court ordered the apartment de-sealed two days. The district officials had swooped on the apartment after video clips showing the facility being used by unmarried people went viral.
Justice M S Ramesh, terming the act of the district authorities extreme and illegal, said: “Apparently, in view of the viral news spread in the social and other media, the extreme step of sealing the premises was taken. When a specific question was put to officials about the illegality in permitting unmarried couples to stay in hotel rooms, they had no answer. Apparently, there are no laws or regulations forbearing unmarried persons of opposite sex from occupying hotel rooms as guests. While live-inrelationship of two adults is not deemed to be an offence, terming the occupation of hotel room by an unmarried couple, will not attract a criminal offence. 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 for the contention that it was sealed because there were liquor bottles in the room though the premises did not possess the licence to serve or sell liquor, Justice Ramesh said, “If the guests had consumed the liquor brought by themselves, I am unable to comprehend how it can be considered impermissible.”
The Tamil Nadu Liquor (Possession for Personal Consumption) Rules, 1996 and the amended version, Justice Ramesh said, entitled a person to possess 4.5 litres each of Indian Made Foreign Spirit and Indian Made Foreign Liquor, 7.8 litres of beer and 9 litres of wine at a given point of time.
Justice Ramesh also pointed out that the service apartment management was not put on notice prior to sealing the premises nor was it asked to give any explanation with regard to the contemplated sealing.
Why can’t unmarried couple share a hotel room, asks high court
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Chennai:08.12.2019
When a live-in relationship between two adults is not deemed an offence, how can the occupation of a hotel room by an unmarried couple be considered a crime?
Posing this question to the Coimbatore district administration which sealed a service apartment in the city after finding that an unmarried couple had occupied a room and consumed liquor there, the Madras high court ordered the apartment de-sealed two days. The district officials had swooped on the apartment after video clips showing the facility being used by unmarried people went viral.
Justice M S Ramesh, terming the act of the district authorities extreme and illegal, said: “Apparently, in view of the viral news spread in the social and other media, the extreme step of sealing the premises was taken. When a specific question was put to officials about the illegality in permitting unmarried couples to stay in hotel rooms, they had no answer. Apparently, there are no laws or regulations forbearing unmarried persons of opposite sex from occupying hotel rooms as guests. While live-inrelationship of two adults is not deemed to be an offence, terming the occupation of hotel room by an unmarried couple, will not attract a criminal offence. 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 for the contention that it was sealed because there were liquor bottles in the room though the premises did not possess the licence to serve or sell liquor, Justice Ramesh said, “If the guests had consumed the liquor brought by themselves, I am unable to comprehend how it can be considered impermissible.”
The Tamil Nadu Liquor (Possession for Personal Consumption) Rules, 1996 and the amended version, Justice Ramesh said, entitled a person to possess 4.5 litres each of Indian Made Foreign Spirit and Indian Made Foreign Liquor, 7.8 litres of beer and 9 litres of wine at a given point of time.
Justice Ramesh also pointed out that the service apartment management was not put on notice prior to sealing the premises nor was it asked to give any explanation with regard to the contemplated sealing.
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