New Delhi. The Supreme Court will on Monday pronounce its verdict on a petition challenging the Madras High Court order which held that mere downloading and viewing of child pornography is not an offence under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Information Technology Act. Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Mishra are likely to deliver the verdict.
The Supreme Court had earlier agreed to hear a plea challenging the High Court verdict that downloading and viewing child pornography is not an offence under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Information Technology Act.
The Madras High Court on January 11 quashed criminal proceedings against a 28-year-old man for downloading child pornography on his mobile phone. The High Court had also said that children these days are facing the serious issue of viewing pornography and instead of punishing them, society should be ‘mature enough’ to educate them. The Supreme Court had taken note of the arguments of senior advocate HS Phoolka, representing two petitioner organisations in the case, that the High Court’s decision was contrary to the laws in this regard.
The senior advocate appeared for Faridabad-based NGO ‘Just Right for Children Alliance’ and New Delhi-based ‘Bachpan Bachao Andolan’. Both these organizations work for the welfare of children. Earlier, the High Court had quashed the criminal case registered against S Harish under the POCSO Act-2012 and the Information Technology Act.
