Watching porn online is not a crime, can't be punished or prosecuted: High Court

In a recent ruling, the Karnataka high court determined that an individual cannot be prosecuted or punished under Section 67B of the Information Technology Act, 2000, for merely viewing child pornography online. This decision was made by Justice M. Nagaprasanna, who emphasized that the essence of Section 67B pertains to the publishing or transmitting of such material, a TOI report stated.

Child Porn Case Background

The case involved M. Inayathulla, a resident of Hoskote town in Bengaluru Rural district, who was accused of viewing a child pornography website for nearly an hour in March 2023. The CyberTipline detected the activity and alerted enforcement authorities, leading to a complaint filed by the CEN police two months later.

Legal Arguments

Inayathulla's defense argued that Section 67B should not apply as he did not publish or transmit any material but only viewed it. His counsel noted that while Inayathulla might have a problem with pornography, he never shared any explicit content. The government advocate countered that such actions should not be tolerated and warranted investigation.

Court's Observation on Watching Porn

Justice Nagaprasanna reviewed the evidence and clarified that Section 67B specifically targets those who publish and transmit child pornography in electronic form. He stated, "The soul of the provision is publishing or transmitting material depicting children in sexually explicit acts. The allegation against the petitioner is he has watched a pornographic website. This, in the considered view of the court, wouldn't become publishing or transmitting of material, as is necessary under Section 67B of the IT Act."

The court concluded that merely viewing such material does not meet the criteria for prosecution under Section 67B. Justice Nagaprasanna noted, "At best, as contended, the petitioner could be a porn addict who has watched pornographic material. Nothing beyond this is alleged against the petitioner. If the facts are pitted against the ingredients necessary to drive home Section 67B of IT Act, what would unmistakably emerge is further proceedings cannot be permitted to be continued, as it would become an abuse of the process of law." The proceedings against Inayathulla were thus quashed, reinforcing the legal distinction between viewing and disseminating child pornography.