NEW DELHI: In its effort to effectively stamp out child porn, the government has for the first time come up with a definition of what encompasses child pornography . Anyone found in possession of even digital or computer generated sexually explicit images that appear to depict a child will have to face punishment, as per the provisions proposed in the Protection of Children Against Sexual Offences Amendment Bill that was approved by the Union Cabinet on Wednesday.

According to WCD ministry the definition elaborates that "any visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct involving a child which includes photographs, videos, digital or computer generated image indistinguishable from an actual child and an image created, adapted or modified but appear to depict a child."

It is proposed to even bring adults feigning as children in pornographic material, morphed images of children and animations depicting child porn within the ambit of investigation and punishment under POCSO .

To be tabled in Parliament in the current session, the bill proposes that any person who stores or possesses pornographic material in any form involving a child but fails to delete or destroy or report the same shall be fined anywhere between Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000.

The maximum limit for fine has been kept open, an official said. In the previous bill tabled in Parliament in January the fine for first time offenders was Rs 1,000 and Rs 5,000 for a repeat offence.

Anyone found to be possessing pornographic material involving children for propagating or distribution is liable for imprisonment of up to three years and those storing child pornography material for commercial use can face imprisonment of three years the first time, five years the second time and seven years for subsequent violation. These crimes also attract fines.

According to the official spokesperson of the WCD ministry, with minister Smriti Irani calling for zero tolerance of child pornography, a definition of child pornography became essential. “The definition leads to setting the context of the crime. Only prescribing punishment leads to possibility that the case may get entangled in inconclusive legal battles,” the spokesperson said. This is also seen by the ministry as a step that underlines and enforces citizens’ responsibility to report and destroy, because not reporting is an evidence of crime.

On the severity of the problem, the WCD ministry highlights two cases. In Kerala a person was arrested for allegedly running a child porn chat group and an online porn channel.

In Delhi, CBI arrested one of the five suspected administrators of a WhatsApp group for allegedly circulating pornographic videos and photos of children. The group consisted of 119 members from 40 countries.

