The top court deemed the Madras High Court's decision on the subject to be "egregious" and overturned it, noting that "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 criminal proceedings against a 28-year-old man accused of downloading child-related pornography onto his mobile phone were quashed by the high court on January 11. The court ruled that the act of downloading and possessing pornographic material did not constitute an offense under the POCSO Act or the IT Act.
"We have concluded that in issuing the contested judgment, the High Court made a grave mistake. We have no choice but to set aside the challenged judgment and transfer the criminal cases back to the Sessions Judge's office at Mahila Neethi Man-dram (Fast Track Court), Tiruvallur District”, the top court declared.
Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice J B Pardiwala's bench issued a plethora of directives and recommendations on the delicate subject, but they also urged Parliament to seriously consider amending the POCSO Act to replace the term "child pornography" with "child sexual exploitative and abuse material" in order to more accurately reflect the reality of such offenses.
Meanwhile, a verdict stated that the courts are to take notice and mandate that the term "child pornography" is not used in any court order or judgment; instead, it should be endorsed as "child sexual exploitative and abuse material" (CSEAM).