SC tells government to end internet porn

In a ruling that has dismayed India's liberal population, the apex court has given the union government 14 days to come up with ways to block foreign websites with pornographic content.

The Supreme Court rejected additional solicitor-general Indira Jaising's argument that the government lacks the technology to block such sites; and moreover any decision in this regard requires consultations among several ministries like home affairs, information & broadcasting, and information technology.

''No, you can't say you don't have the technology. You take up the matter with the concerned ministries and see what can be done. Otherwise, there will be no way we can tackle it,'' an SC bench comprising Chief Justice Altamas Kabir and Justices Ibrahim Kalifulla and Vikramjit Sen said.

The government advocate had sought ''at least four weeks'' to come with a plan of action, but the bench granted only two.

''You can take the assistance of the petitioners. They are willing to provide you the technical knowhow,'' the judges told Jaising after the petitioner's lawyers said they were willing to help the government block such sites.

The petitioners, lawyers Vijay Panjwani and M N Krishnamani, had said that the absence of internet laws encourage people to watch porn videos; and as this is not an offence under Indian law, over 20 crore porn videos or clippings are freely available in the market.

"The sexual content that kids are accessing today is far more graphic, violent, brutal, deviant and destructive (than before) and has put entire society in danger so also safety threats to public order in India.

"The petitioner most respectfully submits that most of the offences committed against women / girls/children are fuelled by pornography. The worrying issue is the severity and gravity of the images is increasing. It is a matter of serious concern that prepubescent children are being raped," the petitioners said.

Many educated Indians are disgusted with the illiberal ruling by the one court they trust. ''The ruling seems to echo the Taliban/Hindutva belief that rapes and crimes against women are the woman's fault,'' said one disgusted observer.

''These kinds of rulings just give another excuse for the Indian government to attempt a China-style cyberwall,'' said another.