Supreme Court rules downloading and watching child pornography to be an offence under POCSO Act

In a significant ruling, the Supreme Court of India declared that both viewing and downloading child pornography constitute punishable offenses under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. This decision, delivered by a bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice JB Pardiwala, marks a crucial milestone in the fight against child exploitation and abuse.

The judgment came after the Supreme Court overturned a controversial ruling by the Madras High Court, which had earlier quashed criminal proceedings against a 28-year-old man accused of downloading child pornography on his mobile phone. The high court had ruled that simply downloading and viewing such material was not an offense under the POCSO Act. However, the Supreme Court dismissed this judgment, calling it a “grave error.”

Referring to Section 15 of the POCSO Act, the court emphasized that anyone found storing or watching child pornography could face severe penalties, including a minimum fine of ₹5,000. For repeat offenses, the fine increases to ₹10,000. If the material is transmitted or stored for commercial purposes, the offender could face imprisonment of up to three years, while repeat offenders may face imprisonment for up to seven years.

The Supreme Court also suggested that Parliament should consider amending the POCSO Act to explicitly define child pornography as “sexually abusive and exploitative material,” in order to make the law more effective in curbing such crimes. The court has advised against the use of the term “child pornography” in future legal orders, proposing that it be replaced with more accurate and serious terminology to reflect the harmful nature of these offenses.

This ruling is expected to have far-reaching effects on how cases related to child sexual exploitation are handled across India, particularly in terms of legal interpretation and enforcement. Chief Justice Chandrachud called the judgment a “milestone” in ensuring that children are better protected from online exploitation and abuse.

“We have said on the lingering impact of child pornography on the victimisation and abuse of children… We have suggested to the Parliament to bring an amendment to POCSO… so that child pornography can be referred to as child sexually abusive and exploitative material. We have suggested an ordinance can be brought in. We have asked all courts not to refer to child pornography in any order,” the bench said.