TULIR CHARITABLE TRUST Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Present public interest litigation has been filed challenging the order dtd. 1/9/2023 passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge (Special Court-POCSO) ('ASJ-SC'), Shahdara District, Karkardooma Courts in SC 18/2022 titled State v. Raman Gautam and Anr. ('impugned order'), whereby the respondent nos.3 and 4 herein were discharged of offences under Sec. 15(2) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (for short 'POCSO Act'). The petitioner also seeks guidelines while hearing cases involving Child Sexual Abuse Material ('CSAM') of unidentified child/children online or offline.

(2.) A perusal of the impugned order reveals that respondent nos. 3 and 4 were arrayed as accused in FIR No. 20(S)/2021/CBI/SC-III/ New Delhi dtd. 14/11/2021 filed by the CBI on the basis of information that respondent nos.3 and 4 along with other unknown persons were involved in circulating, storing and viewing CASM through social media groups.

(3.) Pursuant to registration of the aforesaid FIR, a search was conducted during which a phone and a hard-disk of five-hundred (500) GB was recovered from the house of respondent no.3 on 16/11/2021 and two mobile phones were also recovered from respondent no.4. Upon investigation, thirty-four (34) videos from the mobile phone and fourteen (14) videos from the hard-disk were recovered from respondent no.3 and twenty-five (25) videos were recovered from the phones of respondent no.4, wherein children were depicted in sexually explicit manner.