The Supreme Court Women Lawyers Association has filed an affidavit through their General Secretary in the case of Kamlesh Vaswani v. Union of India to restrict the viewership of pornography, which should be regulated by the Government.
The Supreme Court of India had by order dated 26.2.2016 had allowed the Supreme Court Women Lawyers Association(SCWLA) to implead themselves in the case and give suggestions regarding the banning of pornography in India. The instant case is filed by Kamlesh Vaswani, who is an advocate based in Indore, to ban pornography in India and to declare Sections 66, 67, 69, 71, 72, 75, 79, 80 and 85 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 ultra vires.
The SCWLA has given various suggestions in the affidavit filed by them, briefly which are:
- Porn sites can be blocked by the Government of India via the CLS which are licensed to 4 companies. This will ensure an all India ban, as these underwater cables connect India with the rest of the world.
- Revenue generation model for the Government: The SCWLA has suggested that there should be a minimum amount which has to be paid to the government(not more than Rs. 100) by the people who want to view pornographic material. They have also suggested that the payment that has been done should be notified to the family of the subscriber and should also be reflected in their accounts.
- They suggest that by restricting the viewership of porn by payment will restrict and reduce the people from lower strata such as auto-rickshaw drivers from watching porn, which may reduce crimes against women.
- Restricting the Search Engine results; Youtube adult content restriction.
- They have further stated that porn is divided into two categories, first where the actors in the porn film have given their written consent to such porn film being shown on public domain and the second being those in which the porn is uploaded without the consent of the person in the movie. The second type is usually in cases of revenge porn or in cases to blackmail a person, or, when the rapist has shot the video, which usually leads to suicide by the victim, or, when hidden cameras record in changing rooms, bathrooms, etc. SCWLA has also given a list of 8 websites which portray the second category of porn. They pray that these 8 websites should be immediately banned for all viewers
- Child pornography should be banned immediately and strict action should be taken against the offenders.
- Violent porn should be banned. This violent porn has led to the brutal Delhi Gang Rape (Nirbhaya Case) and various other such incidences.
The affidavit is filed keeping in mind the increasing cases of crimes against women and rape cases. The SCWLA states that the viewing of porn in public places should be strictly banned and also that there should be some restriction on the availability and transfer of porn.
The bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra observed that the petitioners are at liberty to send their suggestions to ASG Pinky Anand who can further send the suggestions to the competent government authority.
