सुप्रीम कोर्ट सोमवार को मद्रास हाई कोर्ट के फैसले को चुनौती दी कहा, POCSO और IT कानून के तहत अपराध है

Supreme Court to Monday challenge Madras High Court verdict, says it is a crime under POCSO and IT laws

The Supreme Court will on Monday pronounce its verdict on a petition challenging the Madras High Court verdict that said that viewing child pornography in private does not fall under the purview of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. According to the causelist published on the Supreme Court website, the verdict, written by Justice J.B. Pardiwala, will be pronounced on September 23. In March this year, a bench led by CJI D.Y. Chandrachud had issued notice on a petition challenging the Madras High Court order that downloading and possessing child pornography is not a crime.

The Madras High Court, in its controversial verdict, had quashed the FIR and criminal proceedings against a 28-year-old Chennai man, saying that viewing child pornography in private does not fall under the purview of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. Justice N. The bench of Anand Venkatesh reasoned that the accused had only downloaded the content and viewed pornography in private and it was neither published nor circulated to others. Since he has not used a child or children for pornographic purposes, it can only be construed as moral turpitude on the part of the accused person. The Chennai police registered an FIR under Section 67B of the Information Technology Act and Section 14(1) of the POCSO Act after it seized the accused's phone and found that he had downloaded and possessed child pornography. In India, the POCSO Act 2012 and the IT Act 2000, along with other laws, criminalise the creation, distribution and possession of child pornography.