Watching and downloading child pornography is a crime, Supreme Court overturns Madras High Court's decision

New Delhi. The Supreme Court today gave a big order regarding child pornography and overturned the decision of the Madras High Court. The Supreme Court has clearly ordered that downloading, watching or possessing child pornography from the Internet is a crime under the POCSO Act. Earlier, the Madras High Court had said in one of its orders that downloading and watching child pornography is not a crime under the POCSO Act and the Information Technology Act. The High Court, while quashing a case registered against a person, had said that he downloaded child pornography from the Internet but did not send it to anyone else, so it cannot be considered a crime.

Supreme Court says that mere storage of child pornographic material is an offence under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO Act).

Supreme Court suggests Parliament to bring a law amending the POCSO Act to replace the term “child pornography” with “Child… pic.twitter.com/mNwDXX88fb

— ANI (@ANI) September 23, 2024

This decision of the Madras High Court was challenged in the Supreme Court by Just Right for Children Alliance, an organization working for children. A three-judge bench headed by CJI Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Mishra, while overturning this decision of the Madras High Court, has also suggested the Central Government to amend the POCSO Act. He said that the Central Government should bring an ordinance and the term Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse Material (CSAEM) should be used in place of the term Child Pornography.

The Supreme Court has also directed all the courts of the country to stop using the term child pornography and instead use material that sexually abuses and exploits children. The Supreme Court bench said that Section 15(1) of the POCSO Act makes possession of material related to child pornography a crime. Under Section 15(2), broadcasting such material or sending it to someone else is a crime, while under Section 15(3), its commercial use has been considered a crime.