Watching porn films in private not a crime: High Court
Karnataka High Court has ruled that watching porn films in private does not constitute an offence under Indian Penal Code.
A single-judge bench of Justice K Bhaktavatsalam of Karnataka High Court delivered this verdict while hearing a petition filed by three engineering students of Bangalore challenging the criminal proceedings initiated against them for watching porn films on their personal computer.
The judge observed that screening porn films and viewing them in public is prohibited under the Indian Penal Code. Similiarly, making a porn film and selling them is also a crime. But, viewing them in private does not constitute a crime, the judge noted and quashed the criminal proceedings initiated against them.
Three students of an engineering college in Bangalore caught by the police while they were watching porn films in a rented room in MEI layout in Bangalore during November 2005. The police seized the computer and compact discs, arrested the students and filed cases against them.
The lower court had taken cognizance of the case and had initiated criminal proceedings on the three students.
But, when the students moved the High Court, Justice Bhaktavatsalam observed that it was not the prosecution’s case that the students possessed compact discs with obscene content for the purpose of sale, distribution or circulation.
Hence, the lower court’s judgement was set aside and the criminal proceedings against the students were quashed.
3 comments:
very helpful post, cheers!
THE VERDICT IS OF UTMOST JUSTICE. PERSONAL FREEDOM WITHOUT HARM TO OTHERS SHOULD NOT BE CONSTRUED AS CRIME.
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