Child Sexual Abuse Material Online: Section 67B and POCSO

By Advocate Panchanand Shaw, Bar Council of West Bengal · Published 3 Nov 2026 · Cyber law

Child sexual abuse material online is an offence under Section 67B of the Information Technology Act, 2000 and under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012. Browsing, downloading or forwarding such material is itself an offence. This guide explains the penalties, the reporting duties, the protections for the child and the position of a person accused.

Child sexual abuse material online is dealt with by Section 67B of the Information Technology Act, 2000 and by the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012. Section 67B punishes publishing, transmitting, creating, collecting, seeking, browsing, downloading or distributing material that depicts children in a sexually explicit act or conduct. A first conviction carries imprisonment up to five years and a fine up to ten lakh rupees; a second or subsequent conviction carries imprisonment up to seven years and a fine up to fifteen lakh rupees. This is not a provision that catches only the person who uploads: merely browsing or downloading such material is itself an offence.

POCSO runs alongside it, and for the person who produces the material it is usually the heavier of the two statutes. Using a child for pornographic purposes is an offence under Section 13 of POCSO, punishable under Section 14; storing pornographic material involving a child is separately punishable under Section 15. The two statutes operate in different fields, and the same conduct can be charged under both. That is why a case involving a child is investigated with a different seriousness, and a different set of protections, from an ordinary obscenity case.

What Section 67B of the IT Act forbids

The section lists a wide range of conduct. It covers publishing or transmitting material in electronic form that depicts children in a sexually explicit act or conduct. It also covers creating, collecting, seeking, browsing, downloading, advertising, promoting, exchanging or distributing such material, and cultivating, enticing or inducing a child into an online relationship for sexual purposes. The breadth is deliberate. The words "browsing" and "downloading" matter, because the section is triggered by the act and not by a purpose beyond it. A person who seeks out such material is within the section even if they never pass it on.

Read with the definitions in the Act, the section reaches text, images, video and any other electronic representation. Platforms and intermediaries have their own duties under the IT Rules, 2021 to act on a genuine notice about child abuse material by removing and reporting it, so a platform must treat such a notice as a matter of urgency rather than routine moderation.

How POCSO interacts with the IT Act

Section 13 of POCSO defines the use of a child for pornographic purposes and includes representing the child's sexual organs or involvement in a sexual act for a sexual purpose. Section 14 provides the punishment, which carries a minimum sentence as well as a maximum. Section 15 punishes the storage of pornographic material involving a child, and reaches a person who stores it for commercial or personal use. Section 19 imposes a duty on a person who comes across such material to report it, and Section 21 punishes a failure to report by a person who is obliged to do so. In practice, a person who comes across such material in the course of work is under a legal duty to report, not merely free to do so.

How the provisions compare

Provision	Conduct	Punishment
IT Act, Section 67B	Publishing, creating, collecting, browsing, downloading or distributing child abuse material	Up to 5 years and fine up to 10 lakh rupees on first conviction; up to 7 years and fine up to 15 lakh rupees subsequently
POCSO, Section 13 read with Section 14	Using a child for pornographic purposes	Imprisonment with a minimum term and a fine, higher on a subsequent conviction
POCSO, Section 15	Storing pornographic material involving a child	Imprisonment up to three years, or fine, or both
POCSO, Section 19 and Section 21	Failure to report an offence	Punishable where a person is under a duty to report

How to report child sexual abuse material in India

Report, do not collect. Report the material on cybercrime.gov.in, which has a dedicated channel for child sexual abuse material, or by calling 1930. Do not download it, do not forward it and do not save it "as proof". Reporting the link and the location is enough.
Report to the platform. Intermediaries are required under the IT Rules, 2021 to act on notices about unlawful content, and child abuse material must be removed and reported. Give the platform the exact link.
Register the FIR. Where the complainant knows the identity of the person involved, or where a child is at risk, a first information report should be registered under Section 173 of the BNSS and, where applicable, under the reporting duty in Section 19 of POCSO.
If the police decline. The complainant can apply to the Magistrate under Section 175(3) of the BNSS for a direction to investigate.
Protect the child's identity. Section 23 of POCSO governs the media and prohibits disclosure of the child's identity. Anyone who reports must not post the child's image, name or school details, and should not circulate the material while doing so.
Investigation. Investigators may search and seize devices, and under Section 105 of the BNSS the search and seizure must be recorded through audio-video electronic means. Electronic records are admissible under Section 63 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, subject to the prescribed certificate.

Two practical points about reporting are worth repeating. The first is that the dedicated reporting channel for child sexual abuse material on the national cyber crime portal does not require the complainant to upload the material; a link and a description are sufficient, and that is deliberate, because downloading the material in order to report it creates a new offence. The second is that service providers and platforms retain connection and access records for limited periods, so the earlier a compliant report identifies the link, the better the chance that the upstream source can be traced before the records are lost. A complaint filed months after the material was seen will often find that the trail has gone cold.

What happens to a person accused under Section 67B

Section 67B is punishable with imprisonment of five years or more, and the offence is accordingly cognizable and non-bailable. A person against whom a case is registered faces a real prospect of custody, and bail is decided on the gravity of the allegation, the nature of the material, the forensic linkage of the material to the accused's devices and the risk of the material being circulated further. Courts treat these offences gravely, and the practical result is that the early steps taken by the accused, and by the defence, carry unusual weight. A device handed over without a written seizure memo, or data deleted after a notice, will be read against the accused.

For a person who believes they are wrongly implicated, the defence is usually technical: the material was not on the device, the device was shared, the account was not the accused's, or the file was cached without the accused's knowledge. Those arguments depend entirely on the forensic record, and the record is built in the first days of the investigation rather than at trial.

It helps to know what the investigation will look for. Forensic examiners usually ask whether the material was actually stored on the device or merely cached, whether the file was opened deliberately or produced by an automatic process, and whether the surrounding activity, such as search terms or chat messages, supports the accused's account. The answers to those questions are rarely within the accused's control after the event, which is why the device and its contents should be left untouched until counsel has seen them. Where the accused is a first-time offender, the case may also turn on whether the material was received without being sought, although the section does not require a purpose beyond the act itself.

Protections around the child and the proceedings

POCSO provides a framework of protections: the child's identity is not to be disclosed, proceedings are generally held in camera, the child is entitled to a support person, and the recording of the child's statement follows the special procedure in the statute. For the complainant, the practical implication is that the case is conducted quietly and correctly from the start. Releasing the material into a public post to build pressure is a mistake that can destroy the case and expose the complainant to liability.

Why this is treated differently from ordinary obscenity

An obscenity case under Section 67 concerns material that offends community standards. A case under Section 67B concerns harm to a child who cannot consent, and the law reflects that difference in several ways. The punishment is heavier, the offence is non-bailable, and the procedure carries protections designed for the child. The material is treated as an ongoing harm rather than a single act, because every copy that is downloaded or forwarded repeats the harm to the child. That is why courts and investigating agencies treat the volume of the material and the length of the distribution chain as seriously as the original act, and why a person who merely holds or browses a file is within the section.

What an organisation that finds such material must do

An employer, school, internet cafe or platform that discovers child sexual abuse material on a system it controls must act, and must act carefully. Under the IT Rules, 2021 the content must be removed and reported, and the records must be preserved for the period the Rules require. The organisation should isolate the file without circulating it, log who found it and when, preserve the associated account and connection data, and report to the authorities rather than to colleagues. Internal gossip about the material, screenshots shared on a staff group or a decision to handle it quietly can each create a fresh offence and destroy the organisation's own evidence. Where the material involves a child known to the organisation, the duty to report under POCSO applies with particular force.

Common mistakes

The single most common mistake is forwarding the material to "prove" that it exists. That act can itself constitute an offence under Section 67B and defeats the purpose of the complaint. A second mistake is waiting, on the assumption that the platform will handle it; platforms remove content, they do not investigate crimes. A third is naming or picturing the child in a complaint that will circulate; the child's identity is protected, and the complainant should respect that protection from the first message. A fourth is private negotiation with the person who holds the material, which risks compounding the offence and contaminating the evidence.

When to involve a lawyer

This is not an area for self-representation on either side. If you are a victim or a witness, a lawyer helps you report correctly, preserve the record without creating a new offence, and keep the procedure on track. If you or a family member are accused, counsel experienced in technology and child protection offences is needed before any statement, before any device is handed over and before the bail application. Our cyber crime lawyer in Kolkata handles offences under Section 67B of the IT Act and POCSO, and you can see how these matters proceed in the local courts on our West Bengal cyber crime practice page.

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Frequently asked questions

What is the punishment for child sexual abuse material under Section 67B?

Section 67B of the IT Act, 2000 provides imprisonment up to five years and a fine up to ten lakh rupees on a first conviction, and imprisonment up to seven years and a fine up to fifteen lakh rupees on a second or subsequent conviction. The section covers creating, collecting, browsing, downloading, publishing and distributing such material, not only uploading it.

Does merely browsing such material make me liable?

Yes. Section 67B of the IT Act expressly covers seeking, browsing, downloading and collecting material that depicts children in a sexually explicit act or conduct. The offence is triggered by the act itself, so a purpose beyond it is not required. Curiosity or a lack of intent to distribute does not take the conduct outside the section.

What does POCSO add to a Section 67B case?

POCSO operates alongside the IT Act rather than in place of it. Section 13 of POCSO defines using a child for pornographic purposes, Section 14 provides the punishment, Section 15 punishes storing such material, and Section 19 imposes a duty to report. Where a child is involved, the two statutes can be charged together.

How do I report child sexual abuse material without breaking the law?

Report the link, not the material. Use the dedicated channel on cybercrime.gov.in or call 1930, and report the exact link to the platform's grievance officer. Do not download, save, forward or re-post the material, because those acts can themselves amount to offences under Section 67B and defeat the purpose of the report.

Is Section 67B a bailable offence?

No. Section 67B carries imprisonment of five years or more and the offence is cognizable and non-bailable. A person against whom a case is registered faces a real prospect of custody, and bail is decided on the gravity of the allegation, the nature of the material, the forensic linkage to the accused's devices and the risk of further circulation.

Who must report such material under POCSO?

Section 19 of POCSO imposes a duty on a person who comes across material involving a child to report it, and Section 21 punishes a failure to report by a person who is obliged to do so, such as a person in charge of an institution. Reporting is a legal duty, and a person who stays silent can face liability themselves.

Is the child's identity protected in these cases?

Yes. Section 23 of POCSO governs the media and prohibits the disclosure of the child's identity, and proceedings are generally held in camera. Anyone reporting must not post the child's name, image, school or other identifying details, and must not circulate the material itself while reporting it. This protection applies throughout the case.

What should a person accused under Section 67B do first?

Preserve the device and every record, change nothing and seek counsel before any statement. Do not delete files, uninstall applications or hand over a device without a written seizure memo. The defence in these matters is usually technical, turning on device identity, custody and the integrity of the electronic record, all of which are fixed in the first few days.

Information for general guidance only and not legal advice. Provisions cited follow the Information Technology Act 2000, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023 and the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023.

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