SC asks IT Ministry to respond on blocking circulation of rape

New Delhi, Aug 28: The Supreme Court today asked the Information Technology Ministry to respond on how to block videos of rape cases, which are circulating on social network websites, under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.

A social justice bench of justices Madan B Lokur and U U Lalit sought the ministry's reply after social activist Sunitha Krishnan submitted that there should be a particular place where one could report about circulation of such rape videos and seeking their blocking.

Krishnan, who is the co-founder of NGO Prajwala engaged in rescue and rehabilitation of victim of sex trafficking, said that apart from the nine complaints on which CBI was probing, she has another 90 cases but there was no single authority before whom she could lodge a complaint for blocking such videos.

She added that social networking websites, including Facebook and YouTube, take action on her complaints and block circulation of rape videos. But she also urged the court to form some temporary arrangement where one could go and lodge the complaint.

Krishnan said that IT Ministry could help in blocking such videos. "Some measures have to be taken for reporting of matters under Section 19, 20 and 21 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012," she said.

The court was hearing a letter sent to Chief Justice of India H L Dattu by Hyderabad-based NGO Prajwala along with two rape videos in a pen drive. It had earlier taken suo motu note of a letter on posting of two rape videos on 'WhatsApp' and had asked CBI to launch a probe "forthwith" to nab the culprits.

PTI