Chennai (Tamil Nadu): Is watching porn a crime? Many people's answer to the question would be crime. But it has again made it clear through its judgment that the courts operating under laws cannot punish anyone unless it affects individual liberty.
In the 2020, a First Information Report was registered at the Ambatur Police Station that a youth from Ambattur here, downloaded pornographic movies related to children on his cell phone. The case was being investigated in the Tiruvallur District Child Protection POCSO Special Court.
A case was filed in the Madras High Court on behalf of the youth to quash the First Information Report. The High Court, which heard the case, held that viewing child pornography cannot be considered an offense under Section 67-B of the Information Technology Act 2000, Section 67-B and Section 14(1) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act (POCSO) 2012. It said that sharing itself can be treated as a crime.
Nowadays, watching pornography is becoming the norm among growing teenagers. A recent study found that nine out of 10 children are aware of pornography before the age of 18. 6 out of 10 girls are aware of pornography before the age of 18.
On average, a male begins to expose himself to pornography at the age of 12. 71 per cent of teenagers hide their online activities from their parents. Teens between the ages of 12 and 17 are more likely to be addicted to pornography. Watching pornography causes negative thoughts and affects mentally and physically developing adolescents. Therefore, it has been stated in the judgment of the Supreme Court that unnecessary misinformation can be eliminated by creating awareness among school students.
When ETV Bharat asked senior advocate KM Vijayan for his opinion about this court's decision, he said, "The judge has explained in his judgment that viewing pornography is wrong in the section entitled 'Rights to privacy'? When is it considered a crime?"
"In it, sending pornography to others can be considered a crime and punishable. Punishing a private video viewer would affect the 'right to privacy'. Justice Ananda Venkatesh made it clear through the judgment that the law of any country can be imposed only when it violates individual rights. Also, since the apex court has stated that self-pleasure cannot be considered a crime, viewing pornography cannot be considered a crime. If you have self-control, you may not get addicted to such a habit," he said.
Advocate Raja Senthurpandian told ETV Bharat that no law of any country says that watching pornography is a crime. "It is a punishable offense to look in public in front of many people without passing it on to others. Watching in India is not wrong. Watching foreign porn videos is not banned in India. We are changing with the times as it is not wrong for people of the same sex to marry and live together. There is a possibility of reduction if the video is published after due warning." He said that watching porn videos cannot be stopped unless there is understanding about sex.
Moreover, in an interview to ETV Bharat, psychiatrist Abhilash said watching porn is more addictive than smoking and drinking, but can be easily cured if proper counseling is given. "Children and young adults alike are easily encouraged to watch again and again because of the unrestricted accessibility of websites. Parents should monitor their children's activities regularly. Children can be prevented from watching pornography by proper guidelines when their activities vary. The government can also block porn websites completely. By allowing viewing of images after age and proper ID registration, we can completely prevent children from watching pornography,” he added.
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