jaipur

Updated: May 13, 2017 20:57 IST

A Class 12 student from Kota has become party to a petition filed against pornographic websites in the Supreme Court.

Aakash Narwala, a 16-year-old student at a private school here, claimed that he had launched a crusade against such websites after seeing his schoolmates get addicted to them – much to the detriment of their academic progress. Last week, he filed an affidavit seeking permission to join Indore lawyer Kamlesh Vaswani’s public interest litigation against Internet pornography in the apex court.

The student, who also claims to be a social activist, runs an NGO called Rape-Free India that spreads awareness on sex crimes through street shows and educational programmes. “Pornographic videos and images objectify women, and they are easily accessible through the Internet. I have observed children of my age get addicted to pornography, spurring them to commit sexual crimes such as rape and molestation,” his affidavit read.

Aakash Narwala runs an NGO called Rape-Free India that spreads awareness on sex crimes through street shows and educational programmes. ( HT Photo )

Narwala’s affidavit stated that he not only wants to safeguard women from crimes such as rape but also prevent adolescent children from committing heinous sexual offences. “I decided to launch the Rape-Free India movement after meeting a juvenile who had raped a minor about four years ago. He was feeling guilty about it. I even sat on dharna in New Delhi to demand a ban on porn sites a couple of years ago,” he said.

The student’s affidavit said easy availability of porn through the Internet is a serious impediment to the nation’s progress. “It affects the younger generation, leading to the perversion of youth; loss of moral, familial and spiritual values; rise in sex crimes; and matrimonial disputes,” it added.

After Narwala’s father died several years ago, his mother took up a sweeper’s job. While the teenager’s brother is a national-level bodybuilder, his sister is a writer.

Vaswani’s petition, filed in 2013, had resulted in the apex court directing the Union government to devise a mechanism to ban pornographic websites.

Uploading and sharing of porn is outlawed under the Indecent Representation of Women’s (Prohibition) Act-1986, Information and Technology Act, Protection of Children from Sexual Offences and several sections of the Indian Penal Code.