The growing influence of the Internet and digital media in India has made access to pornographic content easier than ever before. But, do you know that watching pornographic content is a crime? The biggest thing is that if you watch a particular type of pornographic content, you can also be punished. Let us tell you in detail about the law related to this.
What Indian law says
The law regarding pornographic content in India is a bit confusing. Actually, according to Indian laws, it is illegal to produce, distribute and trade pornographic content. But, as far as watching pornographic content privately is concerned, it has not been clearly declared illegal. That is, if you watch pornographic content privately, you cannot be jailed. However, this is not the case in every case. In some cases, you can be jailed even for watching pornographic content privately.
First understand under which section action is taken
If you create, distribute and trade pornographic content, then there is a provision of punishment under Section 67, 67A of the Information Technology Act, 2000 (IT Act, 2000) and Section 292, 293, 294, 500, 506 and 509 of the IPC. In fact, there are strict rules regarding the publication, broadcasting and distribution of pornographic content on electronic media.
Under Section 67A, there is a provision for severe punishment for broadcasting, publishing or trading obscene content. If found guilty under this law, you can be sentenced to 5 years in prison and fined up to Rs 10 lakh. If you commit a similar crime for the second time, you can be sentenced to 7 years in prison and fined up to Rs 10 lakh.
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There is a jail for watching this type of obscene content
If you watch pornographic content related to children, you can be jailed. In fact, apart from broadcasting, publishing or trading pornographic content related to children, watching it privately is also a crime. If you do this, a case can be registered against you under POCSO Act 2012 and IT Act 2000. If you are found guilty, you can be sentenced to 5 to 7 years and you can also be fined heavily.
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