NEW DELHI: On 11th March: On Monday, the Supreme Court raised raised a concern over a decision by the Madras High Court that deemed downloading child pornography is not an Offence. The bench presided over by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, has issued notices to the Tamil Nadu Police and the accused involved in the case.
The apex court responded to a plea challenging the surprising ruling by the Madras High Court made in January, which asserted that “downloading child pornography did not constitute an offense under either the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) or the Information Technology Act”. The High Court justified its stance by suggesting that such actions occurred “in privacy without affecting or influencing anyone else”.
“The moment an accused tries to circulate or distribute or publicly exhibit obscene photos and videos, then the ingredients of the offence starts kicking in…” the court said.
It clarified that under POCSO and the IT Act, the accused must have created, published, or transmitted the material to qualify as an offense. The relevant section of the IT Act, according to the court, did not cover instances where individuals only downloaded and viewed content without further action.
Consequently, the court dismissed proceedings against a 28-year-old man accused of downloading child pornographic material onto his mobile phone, leading to the dropping of all legal actions against him.
While acknowledging the challenge of children grappling with pornography in today’s society, the High Court expressed concerns about potential long-term negative consequences. It also identified the accused as being “afflicted with this addiction” and recommended counseling for a “healthy and happy future”.
In previous year (October), the central government had issued notices to social media platforms X (formerly Twitter), YouTube, and Telegram, cautioning that they risked losing legal immunity unless they urgently addressed the issue.
The platforms were instructed to permanently remove or disable access to child pornography content as part of the government’s efforts to combat the proliferation of such material online.
