New Delhi, Sep 23, 2024, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

New Delhi, Sep 23: Mere possession of any child pornographic material will tantamount to offences under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Information Technology (IT) Act even if they are not disseminated further, the Supreme Court said on Monday while delivering the highly significant judgement.

Sexual exploitation of children is a pervasive and deeply rooted issue that has plagued societies worldwide and has been a matter of serious concern in India, the top court noted, while terming the verdict of the Madras High Court on the issue as "egregious" and setting it aside.

The high court had on January 11 quashed the criminal proceedings against a 28-year-old man charged with downloading pornographic content involving children on his mobile phone, saying mere possession and downloading of such pornographic materials did not constitute offences under the POCSO and the IT laws.

A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice J B Pardiwala asked Parliament to seriously consider bringing an amendment to the POCSO Act for substituting the term "child pornography" with "child sexual exploitative and abuse material" with a view to reflect more accurately the reality of such offences.

The apex court said any act of viewing, distributing or displaying of child pornographic material on internet without any actual possession or storage in any device or in any form would also amount to "possession" in terms of Section 15 of the POCSO Act if the accused exercised an "invariable degree of control" over it by virtue of the doctrine of "constructive possession".

"Any visual depiction of a sexually explicit act which any ordinary person of a prudent mind would reasonably believe to prima facie depict a child or appear to involve a child, would be deemed as 'child pornography' and the courts are only required to form a prima facie opinion to arrive at the subjective satisfaction...," it said while passing a slew of directions and suggestions on the sensitive issue.