In his order, metropolitan magistrate Rajesh Aggarwal directed the police to unearth their modus operandi and observed: ``From the advertisements, an impression of having lascivious and sexual talks with the girls is made in the mind of an ordinary person.''

The court stated that with the publication of such advertisements in various daily newspapers and their telecast on television networks, the public is incited to make telephone calls at some international number to talk with the girls.

The metropolitan magistrate said, ``A question has arisen in the mind of the court as to how a commercial benefit is derived by the operators of such sex phone services that they can afford to expand in advertisements for the promotion of their trade and also inmanaging it.''

``To the mind of the court, there is no gain to the person only by receiving telephone calls. There is something more in the trade,'' the order further stated.

Aggarwal asked the police to investigate ``if there is any treaty between our country and the overseas for the payment of some amount to the latter for the telephone calls made in the respective countries.''

The court asked the police to find out if there was any agreement between the foreign countries and the operators of the sex phone services for the payment of money for procuring telephone calls for a particular country and earning foreign currency.

``If that is so, can our country people be allowed to be allured by such advertisements, which may lead to loss of foreign currency,'' the magistrate questioned. ``What steps have the state government and the police taken to curb the menace when it has banned public smoking, liquor consumption and lottery business at the cost of the state exchequer with a view to maintain publicmorality and character.''

Posting the matter for further hearing on April 18, the court also asked the police commissioner to inform it if any cognizable or non-bailable offence is committed by the publication of such advertisements.