Supreme Court shows grave concern over use of kids in pornography

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 19

The Supreme Court on Friday expressed serious concern over children being used in pornography as it reserved its verdict on a petition challenging a Madras HC ruling that said mere downloading and watching child pornography was not an offence under the POCSO Act and the Information Technology Act.

“A child watching porn may not be an offence, but children being used in pornography may be an offence and is a matter of serious concern,” a Bench led by CJI DY Chandrachud noted, while hearing an appeal filed by Just Rights for Children Alliance of Faridabad and Bachpan Bachao Andolan challenging the Madras High Court verdict.

It also allowed the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) to intervene in the matter and file its written submissions by April 22. Holding that mere downloading and watching child pornography was not an offence under the POCSO Act and the Information Technology law, the Madras High Court had on January 11 also quashed the criminal proceedings against a 28-year-old man charged with downloading on his mobile phone pornographic content involving children. On behalf of the petitioners, senior counsel HS Phoolka referred to provisions of the POCSO Act and the Information Technology Act and said the high court was wrong in its conclusions.

The counsel for the man accused of downloading child pornographic material said the alleged clip got automatically downloaded on June 14, 2019 in his mobile phone.

The Bench, however, said if one got such material in the inbox then it has to be deleted or destroyed to avoid scrutiny under the relevant laws and if not, it amounted to an offence.

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