India’s Supreme Court Refuses to Regulate Pornography, Cites Nepal’s Instability After Social Media Ban
कात्तिक १८, २०८२ १६:५६
Kathmandu: The Supreme Court of India on Monday refused to hear a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking a national policy to regulate online content, including pornography. The court declined to consider the writ petition that demanded government control over pornographic material.
According to the Hindustan Times, the court rejected the request, citing Nepal’s recent experience with digital restrictions. A bench headed by Chief Justice Bhushan R. Gavai, along with Justice K. Vinod Chandran, said the issue falls under policy-making authority, not judicial intervention.
Dismissing the petition, the court advised the petitioner to approach policymakers. Chief Justice Gavai remarked, “You know, there was an attempt to ban social media in Nepal, and you have seen the result.”
The court’s statement referred to the political and social instability that followed Nepal’s digital access restrictions. The Gen-Z movement, mentioned in the ruling, reached its peak on September 24, 2025.
The movement began as a youth uprising against corruption, nepotism, and rising unemployment. Its immediate trigger was the Nepali government’s ban on 26 social media platforms, including WhatsApp, Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook.
On September 8, at least 19 youths were killed after security forces opened fire during a peaceful protest. The following day, violent demonstrations erupted across the country, including in Kathmandu, leaving 76 people dead within two days. The unrest led to the resignation of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and the formation of an interim government.
The PIL, filed by social activist BL Jain from Madhya Pradesh, called for a national policy and action plan to restrict minors from accessing pornographic material online.
Advocate Varun Thakur, representing the petitioner, argued that pornographic content is easily available on digital platforms, posing serious risks to children. He said the problem worsened after schools went online during the COVID-19 pandemic, exposing young children to the internet at an early age.
Thakur added that the increasing trend of porn consumption among teenagers aged 13 to 18 has harmful psychological and behavioral effects. The petition cited data showing that 5,000 pornographic sites are accessed every second, and over 20 million pornographic videos are uploaded each year.
It also claimed that over 200 million pornographic videos, including child sexual content, are openly available in the Indian market.
The petitioner argued that Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, empowers the central government to block public access to harmful online content. However, while acknowledging the seriousness of the issue, the court noted that parents can already use parental control tools and tracking software to monitor children’s online activities.
The bench declined to issue interim directions and scheduled the next hearing for December, four weeks later.
पछिल्लो अध्यावधिक: कात्तिक १८, २०८२ १६:५६
