Legal

Watching Porn Is Not Illegal So Long As It Is Done Privately: Kerala High Court

By
OB Bureau

New Delhi: Watching pornographic photographs or videos in one’s private time without showing it to others is not an offence under the law as it is a matter of personal choice, the Kerala High Court has held. The high court said that declaring such an act as an offence would amount to intrusion of a person’s privacy and interference with his personal choice, PTI reported.

Justice P V Kunhikrishnan gave the ruling while quashing a case of obscenity under Section 292 of the Indian Penal Code in a 2016 case against a 33-year-old man who was caught by police while watching porn videos on his mobile phone on the roadside near the Aluva Palace in Kerala. The order and ruling came on the accused person’s plea to quash the FIR and the court proceedings against him in connection with that. The court said pornography was in practice for centuries and the new digital age has made it more accessible, even to children.

“The question to be decided in this case is whether a person watching a porn video in his private time without exhibiting it to others amounts to an offence? A court of law cannot declare that the same amounts to an offence for the simple reason that it is his private choice and interference with the same amounts to an intrusion of his privacy,” it said, according to PTI.

The court also noted that there was no allegation that the petitioner (accused) publicly exhibited the video.

“I am of the considered opinion that watching an obscene photo by a person in his privacy by itself is not an offence under Section 292 (obscenity) of IPC. Similarly, watching an obscene video by a person from a mobile phone in his privacy is also not an offence under Section 292 IPC.

“If the accused is trying to circulate or distribute or publicly exhibit any obscene video or photos, then the offence under Section 292 IPC is attracted,” Justice Kunhikrishnan said.

Therefore, no offence under Section 292 of the IPC is made out against the accused, the court said and quashed all the proceedings in the magisterial court in connection with the case.

At the same time, Justice Kunhikrishnan also cautioned parents against giving mobile phones with internet access to children to make them happy. “The parents should be aware of the danger behind it. Let the children watch informative news and videos from the mobile phones of their parents in their presence.

“Parents should never hand over mobile phones to minor children to make them happy and thereafter complete their daily routine works in their house allowing unsupervised use of mobile phones by children,” the judge said. If minor children end up watching porn videos, which are now accessible in all mobile phones, “there will be far-reaching consequences,” he added.

“Let the children play cricket or football or other games they like during their leisure time. That is necessary for a healthy young generation who are to become the beacons of hope of our nation in the future.

“Instead of purchasing food from restaurants through ‘swiggy’ and ‘zomato’, let the children taste the delicious food made by their mother and let the children play at playgrounds and come back home to the mesmerising smell of their mother’s food. I leave it there to the wisdom of the parents of minor children of this society,” the judge said.

OB Bureau

Recent Posts

Newborn Girl Found Abandoned Near Bush In Odisha’s Mayurbhanj

Baripada: A newborn girl was found lying near a bush at Bhanra village under Karanjia…

November 8, 2024

Shah Rukh Khan Bagged ‘Baazigar’ After Salman Khan Rejected It

Mumbai: Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan, the leading superstars of Bollywood, came from different…

November 8, 2024

Dhanush & Nithya Menen Starrer ‘Idli Kadai’ To Release On This Date

Mumbai: Actor-filmmaker Dhanush took to his X handle on Friday to announce the release date…

November 8, 2024

National Hockey: Another Big Win Takes Odisha Closer To Knockout Stage

Chennai: Odisha all but booked a berth in the knockout stage of the 14th Hockey…

November 8, 2024

Traffic Restrictions For Panchaka, Badaosa At Dhabaleswar Temple In Odisha’s Cuttack; Check Details

Cuttack: Several traffic restrictions have been imposed to ensure smooth movement of devotees to Dhabaleswar…

November 8, 2024

Late Sidhu Moose Wala’s Brother Is A Carbon Copy Of Him

Mumbai: Sidhu Moose Wala's parents Balkaur Singh and Charan Kaur shared a picture of their…

November 8, 2024

Unique Protest: No Dating, No Sex, No Babies With Men Who Voted For Donald Trump

New York: A group of American women has launched an unprecedented protest against men who…

November 8, 2024

4 More Handicrafts Granted Official Approval In Odisha; Total Number Now 55

Bhubaneswar: Four more handicrafts were granted approval by the Odisha government, taking the total number…

November 8, 2024