BENGALURU: In a major development, the Karnataka High Court on Tuesday directed the state government to submit the status report in relation to the investigation conducted into the 113 victims of child pornography.
The division bench of Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice Pradeep Singh Yerur issued the direction after hearing a suo motu PIL registered by the High Court based on the directions issued by the Supreme Court for monitoring the implementation of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, and also the PIL petition filed by Bachpan Bachao Andolan.
The court also indicated that it would pass the order to issue directions for effective implementation of the Act as the state has not implemented it.
In the PIL, Bachpan Bachao Andolan highlighted that there are 113 victims, including 87 boys and 26 girls, of child pornography in Karnataka. They all were housed in state-run homes for children. The petitioner also drew the court’s attention on the fact that 113 cases found in Karnataka in 2018 is the highest percentage (60 per cent) of reported victims of child pornography.