In a landmark verdict, the Supreme Court on Monday held that watching and downloading child pornography are offences under the POCSO Act and the information technology law, reported news agency PTI. The apex court suggested Parliament consider amending the term `child pornography` with "child sexually abusive and exploitative material" by bringing changes in law,

Supreme Court on September 23 said that mere storage of child pornographic material is an offence under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO Act).

In a landmark judgment, the Supreme Court on Monday ruled that downloading and watching child pornography is an offence under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justice JB Pardiwala set aside the Madras High Court order that had ruled that merely downloading and watching child pornography was not an offence under POCSO Act and noted that the high court had committed an “egregious error” in passing the judgment.

The Supreme Court on Monday ruled storing and watching child pornographic material is a punishable offence under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act if the person concerned has the intention to take advantage of it.