Supreme Court Rebukes Madras HC’s verdict on Child Pornography

New Delhi: On Monday, the Madras High Court’s ruling to exclude the downloading of child pornography from criminal prosecution was rebuked by the Supreme Court. The Tamil Nadu Police and the defendants in this case received notice from a bench chaired by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud.

A case challenging the High Court’s startling January decision that downloading child pornography is not illegal under the Information Technology Act or the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) because the actions were done “in privacy without affecting or influencing anyone else” was being heard by the Supreme Court.

The Court said,” The moment an accused tries to circulate or distribute or publicly exhibit obscene photos and videos, then the ingredients of the offense starts kicking in…”

Under the POSCO Act if the alleged person created, published, or transmitted the material then only the act is classified as an offense the court explained. The cases under the IT Act do not have any relevant sections to cover the incidences where an individual downloads and watches the content.

On these grounds, the court dismissed the proceedings against a 28-year-old man who was accused of downloading child porn content on his mobile phone.

All the legal actions against the alleged were dropped.

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Youngsters today have easy access to everything, which has created an issue of children being indulged in all sorts of content at an early age, the High Court voiced concerns about how today’s kids are “grappling” with the issue of seeing porn, stating that it could have detrimental effects years down the road.

Keeping in view the accused’s affliction of watching porn, the court has directed him to undergo counseling for a “healthy and happy future”.

Social media sites X (previously Twitter), YouTube, and Telegram received notifications from the central government in October of last year informing them that if they did not take immediate action to address this issue, they would lose their legal immunity.

The platforms were requested to prohibit access to or permanently remove any child pornographic content.

What is the POSCO Act?

POSCO stands for Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012. It deals with sexual abuse against children. The act came into force on 14th November 2012 along with the Rules framed thereunder.

In addition to protecting kids from sexual assault, harassment, and pornography, POSCO ensures that kids’ interests are considered throughout the legal system by designing kid-friendly procedures for reporting, gathering evidence, conducting investigations, and expediting the trial of offenders in designated special courts.

The legislation defines a child as anyone under the age of eighteen. It also describes several forms of sexual abuse, such as penetrative and non-penetrative assault, sexual harassment, and pornography.