'Storage Of Child Pornography Offence Under POCSO Act': Supreme Court Calls Out Madras HC's 'Error', Reinstates Criminal Proceedings

The Supreme Court, on Monday (23 September), overturned a Madras High Court judgment that ruled the mere storage of child pornographic material without intent to distribute was not an offence under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

The Supreme Court held that simply storing such material, without deleting or reporting it, suggests an intention to transmit and that the High Court committed an "egregious error" in quashing the criminal proceedings, LiveLaw reported.

A bench consisting of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice JB Pardiwala reinstated the criminal proceedings, stating that the accused’s failure to delete, destroy, or report the material provided sufficient grounds for invoking a statutory presumption of a culpable mental state.

Justice Pardiwala noted that Section 15 of the POCSO Act penalises the mere storage or possession of any pornographic material involving a child when done with the specific intent prescribed thereunder without requiring any actual transmission, dissemination etc.

"Even, if the said 'storage' or 'possession' no longer exists at the time of registration of the FIR, nonetheless an offence can be made out under Section 15 if it is established that the person accused had 'stored' or 'possessed' of any child pornographic material," the order said.