In its new ruling relating to pornographic content, the Kerala High Court on Tuesday said that watching pornographic photos or videos in one’s private time and space without involving anyone else cannot be considered an offence under the law.
Calling it a matter of personal choice, the court said that declaring such actions that do not bother anyone else’s space as an offence would amount to the intrusion of a person’s privacy and interference with his personal choice.
According to PTI, the ruling was delivered by Justice P V Kunhikrishnan who was hearing a case of obscenity against a 33-year-old man who was caught by police watching porn videos on his mobile phone on the roadside near the Aluva palace in 2016.
The high court quashed the FIR and the previous court proceedings against the accused and said he wasn’t breaking any laws.
The court also noted that pornography and such related content has been 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,” PTI quoted the bench as saying.
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,” the judge said
The court further said that the action can be intimated if the accused is trying to circulate distribute or publicly exhibit any obscene video or photos but that was not the case with the accused.
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.
Noting the impact of minor children getting involved in the circulation of pornographic content, Justice Kunhikrishnan said that the effect of minors accessing such videos would be far-reaching as such content is now easily available on their phones.
“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 for our nation in the future,” the bench stated.
“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.
(With PTI inputs)