The Supreme Court opened up on the child pornography, saying that is is spreading as a cancer in the society and sought to take measures to stop it.  

Six months ago, where there are several controversies raised upon banning the porn in the country, the government had to take back its decision. But Supreme Court took out the issue yesterday and told the government to find the ways to block the porn sites.

Justices Dipak Misra and Shiva Kirti Singh on the bench, hearing a PIL relating to child pornography, asked the Additional Solicitor General, Pinky Anand to come out with a suitable mechanism to block these websites and put to an end to this menace.

The Bench said “Children cannot be made prey to this kind of painful situation and a nation cannot afford to carry on any experiment with its children in the name of liberty or for that matter  freedom of speech. You have to be more scientific.”

Keeping in mind, the individual right to privacy and geographical boundaries, the Astaro Security Gateway (ASG) added that applying a blanket ban on porn per se may not be feasible, as the government currently does not have the technical expertise.

“These service providers are not within the jurisdiction of the country. There should be self regulation or a mandatory provision for banning the materials,” she said.

The bench remarked, “If it is not permissible by the government of India, it is the obligation of the government to ban it. The mechanism has to be developed. How it can be done, you have to see.”

By Phani Ch