Watching Child Pornography is a Crime Under Pocso: SC

The Supreme Court on Monday issued a landmark ruling stating that downloading, storing, and watching child pornography is an offense under the POCSO Act. A bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud and Justice JB Pardiwala passed this judgment, overturning a previous ruling by the Madras High Court, which had decriminalized these acts.

On January 11, the Madras High Court had canceled criminal proceedings against a Chennai resident, S Harish (28), who was charged with downloading child pornography on his mobile phone. The Supreme Court called the High Court’s ruling a serious error, clarifying that even watching or downloading such material is punishable under the law.

In its judgment, the Supreme Court reinstated criminal proceedings against the Chennai man and emphasized that not only publishing and sharing but also creating and downloading child pornography is an offense. The court also urged the central government to replace the term “child pornography” with “child sexually abusive and exploitative material” in all future references.

Earlier in March, the Supreme Court had expressed strong disapproval of the Madras High Court’s decision, labeling it “atrocious.” CJI Chandrachud remarked, “How can a single judge say this?” The court had reserved its judgment in April and delivered its ruling on Monday.

The ruling came in response to a petition filed by the Just Rights for Children Alliance, a coalition of NGOs, which argued that the Madras High Court’s decision could encourage the proliferation of child pornography and harm children’s welfare.

The petition highlighted that such a ruling could mislead the public into believing that downloading and possessing child pornography is not a crime, thereby increasing the demand for such content and further endangering children by promoting their exploitation in pornography.

Aakhir Tak Editor-in-Chief

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