Supreme Court ruling on child pornography

Syllabus: GS2/Polity and Governance

Context

• The Supreme Court has ruled that private viewing, downloading, storing, possessing, distributing or showing of pornographic acts involving children is criminally liable under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 and the Information Technology Act, 2000.

Background

• The Supreme Court’s ruling was based on an appeal filed by an NGO, Just Right for Children Allianceagainst a judgment of the Madras High Court.
• The Supreme Court concluded that viewing or downloading pornographic acts involving children in private domain was not an offence under the POCSO Act.

Supreme Court ruling

• The Supreme Court has urged Parliament to amend the POCSO Act and replace the term ‘child pornography’ with ‘“Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse Material” or CSEAM.
  • The term child pornography can lead to a trivialization of the crime, because pornography is often seen as a consensual act between adults.
• The court said that Article 67B of the Information Technology (IT) Act The law criminalized the use, transmission and publication of obscene material, including child pornography.
  • It has also led to the online browsing, creation, collection, facilitation or enticement of children to engage in any sexual act or behaviour being made a punishable offence.
• Section 15 of the POCSO Act makes it a criminal offence to store child pornography for the purpose of sharing or sending it.
• The court developed the principle of ‘constructive possession’, which means that a person is liable if at any time he has an unlimited degree of power and knowledge to control, manipulate, change, modify or destroy the material.

Measures taken by India to address the problem

• Cybercrime Unit (CCU): It deals with matters falling under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Information Technology (IT) Act.
• Cybercrime Prevention Programme against Women and Children (CCPWC): The aim is to create an effective mechanism to tackle cybercrime against women and children in the country.
• National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR): The organization works with law enforcement agencies, conducts awareness campaigns and intervenes in cases to ensure the safety of children.
• Indian Cyber ​​Crime Coordination Centre (I4C): coordinates law enforcement efforts across the country to combat cybercrime, including child pornography.
• Cyber ​​tip line:It is the place to report child sexual exploitation and is operated by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).

Closing Words

• The Supreme Court ruling marks a transformative step in the way child sexual exploitation crimes are viewed and tackled in India.
• The ruling sends a powerful message that society can no longer trivialize or misrepresent these horrific acts.
• The court’s recommendations call for a comprehensive, multi-faceted approach, including legislative changes, awareness-raising on sex education in India and support systems to protect children from exploitation and abuse.

Source: E