New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday said that watching porn of a child may not be a crime, but the use of children in pornography is a matter of serious concern and can be a crime.
A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice JB Pardiwala made these observations while reserving judgment on the appeal filed by NGOs - Jas Rights for Children Alliance of Faridabad and New Delhi-based Bachpan Bacha Andolan - challenging the Madras High Court verdict. Did. ,
The institutions work for the welfare of children. The bench said, "Watching porn of a child may not be a crime but using children in pornography can be a crime and is a matter of grave concern."
The Madras High Court has ruled that mere downloading and viewing of child pornography is not an offense under the POCSO Act and the Information Technology Act.The high court on January 11 also quashed criminal proceedings against a 28-year-old man, who was accused of downloading pornographic material related to children on his mobile phone. Senior advocate HS Phoolka, appearing for the two organisations, told the high court Criticized the Court's decision and cited provisions of the POCSO Act and the Information Technology Act.
The bench said that if anyone finds such material in the inbox, it will have to be deleted or destroyed to avoid investigation under the relevant laws.
It said that if someone continues to violate the IT provisions by not removing or destroying child pornographic material, it constitutes an offence. The bench was responding to the submissions of the lawyer, who was representing the person Who was accused of downloading child porn material, the alleged clip came to him on June 14, 2019.The lawyer of the accused, who was acquitted by the High Court, said that the material was automatically downloaded on his WhatsApp.
Meanwhile, the top court allowed child rights body National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) to intervene in the case and file written arguments by April 22. "Arguments are completed and the judgment is reserved," the CJI said. "
On March 11, the apex court had termed as "atrocious" the Madras High Court's decision that mere downloading and viewing of child pornography is not an offense under the POCSO Act and the Information Technology Act.
It had agreed to consider the NGOs' appeal against the High Court's decision.The High Court had said that children today are facing a serious problem of watching porn and instead of punishing them, the society should be "mature enough" to educate them.
While issuing the appeal notice, the apex court had also sought responses from Chennai resident S Harish and two police officers belonging to Tamil Nadu.
The high court had quashed the criminal case against Harish under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act, 2012 and the Information Technology Act, 2000. For this, the accused person must publish, disseminate, produce material depicting children in sexually explicit acts or conduct.
The High Court had said, “A careful reading of this provision does not make viewing child pornography an offense under Section 67-B of the Information Technology Act, 2000.,
The High Court said that even though the said section of the IT Act is broadly described, it does not cover a case where a person has merely downloaded child pornography on his electronic gadget and without doing anything else. It was stated that admittedly, there were two videos involving minor boys which were downloaded and available on the petitioner's mobile phone, and they were neither published nor circulated to others and the petitioner Were in private domain.
However, the High Court had expressed concern over children viewing pornography.
It said that watching pornography can have negative consequences on teenagers, affecting both their psychological and physical health. Generation Z children are struggling with this serious problem and instead of scolding and punishing them, society should One should be mature to give them proper advice and educate them and try to counsel them to get rid of that addiction.Education should start from the school level since exposure to adult material begins at that stage," the judge said.
The High Court had advised petitioner S Harish to attend counseling if he still suffered from the addiction of watching pornography.
A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice JB Pardiwala made these observations while reserving judgment on the appeal filed by NGOs - Jas Rights for Children Alliance of Faridabad and New Delhi-based Bachpan Bacha Andolan - challenging the Madras High Court verdict. Did. ,
The institutions work for the welfare of children. The bench said, "Watching porn of a child may not be a crime but using children in pornography can be a crime and is a matter of grave concern."
The Madras High Court has ruled that mere downloading and viewing of child pornography is not an offense under the POCSO Act and the Information Technology Act.The high court on January 11 also quashed criminal proceedings against a 28-year-old man, who was accused of downloading pornographic material related to children on his mobile phone. Senior advocate HS Phoolka, appearing for the two organisations, told the high court Criticized the Court's decision and cited provisions of the POCSO Act and the Information Technology Act.
The bench said that if anyone finds such material in the inbox, it will have to be deleted or destroyed to avoid investigation under the relevant laws.
It said that if someone continues to violate the IT provisions by not removing or destroying child pornographic material, it constitutes an offence. The bench was responding to the submissions of the lawyer, who was representing the person Who was accused of downloading child porn material, the alleged clip came to him on June 14, 2019.The lawyer of the accused, who was acquitted by the High Court, said that the material was automatically downloaded on his WhatsApp.
Meanwhile, the top court allowed child rights body National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) to intervene in the case and file written arguments by April 22. "Arguments are completed and the judgment is reserved," the CJI said. "
On March 11, the apex court had termed as "atrocious" the Madras High Court's decision that mere downloading and viewing of child pornography is not an offense under the POCSO Act and the Information Technology Act.
It had agreed to consider the NGOs' appeal against the High Court's decision.The High Court had said that children today are facing a serious problem of watching porn and instead of punishing them, the society should be "mature enough" to educate them.
While issuing the appeal notice, the apex court had also sought responses from Chennai resident S Harish and two police officers belonging to Tamil Nadu.
The high court had quashed the criminal case against Harish under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act, 2012 and the Information Technology Act, 2000. For this, the accused person must publish, disseminate, produce material depicting children in sexually explicit acts or conduct.
The High Court had said, “A careful reading of this provision does not make viewing child pornography an offense under Section 67-B of the Information Technology Act, 2000.,
The High Court said that even though the said section of the IT Act is broadly described, it does not cover a case where a person has merely downloaded child pornography on his electronic gadget and without doing anything else. It was stated that admittedly, there were two videos involving minor boys which were downloaded and available on the petitioner's mobile phone, and they were neither published nor circulated to others and the petitioner Were in private domain.
However, the High Court had expressed concern over children viewing pornography.
It said that watching pornography can have negative consequences on teenagers, affecting both their psychological and physical health. Generation Z children are struggling with this serious problem and instead of scolding and punishing them, society should One should be mature to give them proper advice and educate them and try to counsel them to get rid of that addiction.Education should start from the school level since exposure to adult material begins at that stage," the judge said.
The High Court had advised petitioner S Harish to attend counseling if he still suffered from the addiction of watching pornography.
