The Supreme Court has held that watching pornography involving children in private is a violation of the POCSO Act and asked all courts across the country to not use the term child pornography in any judicial order or judgment. The Apex court gave these directions today while setting aside a decision of the Madras High Court which had held that watching adult videos involving children would not fall within the scope of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences, or POCSO Act.

The judgment authored by Justice J.B. Pardiwala suggested that instead of Child pornography, courts can endorse the term “child sexual exploitative and abuse material” CSEAM. The court also said, that the Parliament should seriously consider substituting the term and in the meantime, the Union government may bring an ordinance to amend the POCSO.

In March this year, the Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud led Bench issued a notice on the plea challenging the Madras High Court order, quashing the FIR and criminal proceedings against a 28-year-old Chennai man, holding that watching child pornography in private would not fall within the scope of the POCSO Act.