Merely viewing porn not a crime, rules Bombay HC

Mumbai: Among teenage minors, particularly boys in urban societies, watching a ‘blue film’ — euphemism for pornography — is often considered a rite of passage, a coming-of-age staple, albeit a furtive one. But can adults who view pornographic content be charged with obscenity if they are doing so in private? No, says the Bombay high court.



Justice Vijaya Kapse-Tahilramani of the Bombay HC on Wednesday quashed obscenity charges against top customs officers who were arrested during a police raid at a Lonavla bungalow in 2008. Merely viewing an “obscene” film in the privacy of a house is not obscenity as defined under Indian criminal law, the court ruled.
The customs officers were raided while allegedly watching a pornographic film on a laptop and dancing with bar girls, the police had claimed.
“Simply viewing an obscene object is not an offence,” Justice Tahilramani said. “It becomes an offence only when someone has in possession such objects for the purpose of sale, hire, distribution, public exhibition or putting it into circulation. If the obscene object is kept in a house for private viewing, the accused cannot be charged (for obscenity).”
The court held that the private viewing of an obscene film on a laptop in a bungalow does not amount to public exhibition. The prosecution’s argument that the accused were dancing with the bar girls in an obscene manner didn’t cut ice with the court.
The HC said the people were dancing among themselves and not for public exhibition. “Proceedings against the accused (on obscenity charges) will be an abuse of the process of the court,” said the judge.
The officers, however, have charges against them under provisions of the Bombay Prohibition Act for consuming liquor without a permit.