CBI v. ByteDance India (Delhi HC)
Delhi High Court2026 SCC OnLine Del 891Bench: J. Suresh Kumar Kait, J. Girish Kathpalia
The Delhi High Court held that the mandatory reporting obligation under Section 19 POCSO is not limited to natural persons who witness abuse directly — it extends to any person or entity that has knowledge or reasonable belief that an offence under POCSO has been committed or is being committed. A social media platform whose internal system has detected CSAM has the requisite "knowledge" under Section 19 to trigger the mandatory reporting obligation. Failure to report is an offence under Section 21 POCSO punishable with up to 6 months' imprisonment plus fine. The platform cannot claim safe harbour under Section 79 IT Act for CSAM content since IT Rules 2021 explicitly require mandatory CSAM reporting. The compliance officer is vicariously liable as the designated officer responsible for statutory compliance. Charges were upheld and the trial was directed to proceed.