The Supreme Court on Monday suggested that Parliament should 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. A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice J B Pardiwala said the Centre, in the meantime, may consider to bring about the suggested amendment to the POCSO Act by way of an Ordinance.“We put the courts to notice that the term ‘child pornography’ shall not be used in any judicial order or judgment, and instead the term ‘child sexual exploitative and abuse material’ (CSEAM) should be endorsed,” the bench said.
The apex court delivered a landmark judgement which held that watching and downloading child pornography are offences under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 and the Information Technology (IT) Act.