The other day, out of curiosity, I began reading about Cyber Laws and more specifically on the laws to control pornography in India, especially in the wake of ministers getting caught watching porn. You can find volumes of information on the the internet on the same.

Here are some of the key points you may find interesting:

• Pornography has not been defined, but obscenity.
• Freedom of speech and expression is a fundamental right under Indian Constitution, but the law against obscenity is also constitutional.
• In India, watching or possessing pornographic materials is fully legal.
• Distribution of such materials is banned. Likewise, the publication or production of X-rated materials is illegal.

There have been some scenarios covered in the law, click here to read more.

As per section 67 of IT Act :

Whoever publishes or transmits or causes to be published in the electronic form, any material which is lascivious or appeals to the prurient interest or if its effect is such as to tend to deprave and corrupt persons who are likely, having regard to all relevant circumstances, to read, see or hear the matter contained or embodied in it, shall be punished on first conviction with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to five years and with fine which may extend to one lakh rupees and in the event of a second or subsequent conviction with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years and also with fine which may extend to two lakh rupees.

Decoding the section 67 of IT Act :

To be considered obscene, the matter meet at least one of the following criteria:

1. it must tend to excite lust, or
2. it must arouse interest in lustful thoughts, or
3. it must cause a person to become morally bad.

So clearly, it depends on the person hearing the case and what he thinks of the matter.

Who are authorized to investigate in cases pertaining to distribution or publishing of Obscene matter or content?

• Controller of Certifying Authorities (CCA)
• Person authorized by CCA
• Police Officer not below the rank of Deputy Superintendent

Penalties on Pornography law violation in India:

• First offense:  Simple or rigorous imprisonment up to 5 years and fine up to  Rs 1 lakh
• Subsequent offense: Simple or rigorous imprisonment up to  10 years and fine up to  Rs 2 lakh

To summarize, what may be considered an offense in India may be perfectly legal in the US. Also, controlling of Pornography is something that’s subjective. And since possession of pornographic content is legal, go ahead and keep collecting stuff as per the various fetishes you may have. But don’t indulge in distribution 😉

Check the link, Incase you wish to see the internet pornography Statistics

The DNetWorks Team