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Section 15: Punishment for storage of pornographic material involving child

Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 • Official Statutory Text & Practice Guide

Non-Bailable

Cognizable

Special Court (POCSO)

Act 2012

Section 15 of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012: Punishment for storage of pornographic material involving child

Official Bare Act Text

Override / Mandate Mens Rea (Intent) Actus Reus (Conduct) Punishment Limitation Monetary

(1) Any person who consumes, stores, or downloads child pornography shall be liable to fine or imprisonment as prescribed under this section.

(2) Transmitting or distributing child pornography shall be punished with imprisonment up to three years or fine or both.

Statutory Defined Terms in this Section: (Click any term for official legal definition)

Child Sec 2(1)(d) Special Court Sec 28

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 15

Section 15 criminalizes the storage, possession, and non-deletion of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), establishing clear legal duties for electronic device users and internet platforms.

Storage with Intent to Transmit: Punishes possessing or storing CSAM for commercial, transmission, or dissemination purposes with imprisonment up to three years.
Mandatory Deletion Duty: Any person having possession of CSAM must delete or destroy it immediately, or report and transmit it to cyber police authorities.
Strict Fine for Passive Retention: Following 2019 amendments, mere failure to delete or report CSAM without intent to transmit attracts statutory fines.
Presumption of Knowledge: Possession on personal hard drives, smartphones, or cloud repositories creates an evidentiary burden on the custodian to explain lawful acquisition.

Section 15 eliminates consumer-side markets for child pornography, holding individuals legally accountable for downloading, harboring, or failing to report abusive digital content.

Key Landmark Precedents:

Just Rights for Children Alliance v. S. Harish (2024) SCC OnLine SC 2470: Held that possession of child pornography cannot be treated as a private act of consumption; possessing CSAM is punishable under Section 15.

Legal Commentary:

Section 15 places a positive legal duty on citizens to delete or report child sexual abuse material, criminalizing its retention on smartphones, laptops, or cloud servers.