The Supreme Court of India ruled on Monday that individuals can face criminal liability for viewing, downloading, storing, or distributing child pornography. This landmark decision — based on the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), 2012 and the Information Technology Act (IT), 2000 — strengthens protections for vulnerable minors.

The court’s judgment stated that such abuse initiates a cycle of victimization, with recording and sharing these acts perpetuating trauma. Victims must endure the knowledge that their suffering can be viewed and shared indefinitely. Justice J.B. Pardiwala, who authored the 200-page ruling, noted that this ongoing exposure deepens the psychological scars from the initial abuse.

This ruling followed an appeal by the NGO Just Right for Children Alliance, which contested a previous decision by the Madras High Court. The High Court had ruled that possessing child pornography without intent to transmit did not violate the POCSO Act. The Supreme Court found this interpretation fundamentally flawed, asserting that possession without reporting or deleting such material suggests intent to transmit, thus violating the law.

The Court also recommended significant legislative reform. It urged Parliament to amend the POCSO Act to replace “child pornography” with “Child Sexual Exploitative and Abuse Material” (CSEAM) to better reflect the crime’s severity, countering the trivialization associated with the term “pornography.”

Additionally, the Supreme Court noted critical provisions in the Information Technology Act that penalize not only the possession and transmission of obscene materials but also browsing such content. The ruling clarified that knowledge and control over the material, regardless of physical storage, constitute possession under the law.