NEW DELHI: Possession of child pornographic material for commercial use, viewing and storage of such material and their transmission and distribution may soon invite severe punishment, including a hefty fine and jail term extending up to five years. It will be treated as a non-bailable offence and, on second conviction, the accused may face a jail term of up to seven years.The proposed amendments to the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act also include penalties for not mandatorily reporting child pornography as also possession of pornographic pictures and videos on WhatsApp.The proposal is awaiting the approval of the law ministry and the ministry of women and child development is hoping to get it by next week to be able to take the amendments to the Cabinet soon, sources said. Growing instances of pornography involving children have been seen with concern by the Prime Minister’s Office, which has initiated steps to make it a very serious offence, sources told TOI.WCD minister Maneka Gandhi has been raising concern over child pornography and crimes like revenge porn and the need to put in place necessary checks, including changes in law.The amendments have been proposed in Section 15 of the POCSO Act. It is proposed that any person who “stores or possesses” any pornographic material in any form involving a child “but fails to delete/destroy or report” the same to the designated authority shall be punished with a fine not less than Rs 1,000. In the event of a second or subsequent offence, the fine shall not be less than Rs 5,000. (TOI has seen the documents under consideration)The amendments are also being made regarding “transmitting, propagating and distributing” such material “in any manner except for the purpose of reporting… and for use as evidence in court”.The most serious action will be taken against a person who stores any pornographic material “for commercial use”. As of now under Section 15, punishment may extend to three years or fine or both. This is proposed to be amended to ensure that the guilty shall be punished on the first conviction with imprisonment which may not be less than three years, and may extend up to five years. In the event of second or subsequent conviction, the minimum punishment will be for five years which could be extended to seven years.Read this story in Marathi