Team Blitz India
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has called “atrocious” a Madras High Court judgment, which held that merely watching child pornography is not an offence under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act and the Information and Technology Act, 2000.
“How can a single judge say this? This is atrocious,” observed a Bench, led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, while agreeing to examine the correctness of the January order by the HC.
The Bench, also comprising Justices JB Pardiwala an’ Manoj Misra, issued notice on the appeal moved by a coalition of NGOs, ‘Just Rights for Children Alliance’, and sought replies from the Tamil Nadu Government and others.
NGOs’ submission
The NGOs submitted that the Madras HC order was erroneous because the nature of the content and the involvement of minors in the material make it subject to the provisions of the Pocso Act.
In its January 11 order, a Bench of Justice N Anand Venkatesh quashed a criminal case against a 28-year-old man who was charged with downloading and watching pornographic content involving children, holding that “a child or children must have been used for pornography purposes” to attract charges under the Pocso Act. Section 14 of the Pocso Act prescribes punishment for using a child for pornographic purposes.
