NCPCR v. News18 India (Delhi HC)
Delhi High Court2026 SCC OnLine Del 2341Bench: J. Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora
The Delhi High Court held that the prohibition under Section 23 POCSO is absolute — it admits of no exception for "public interest," "public domain availability," or journalistic purpose. The fact that a photograph was previously available online does not authorise its republication by a media outlet in the context of POCSO reporting. Section 23 POCSO explicitly applies to all forms of media — print, electronic, and digital. The editor's "public domain" defence was rejected: once a prohibition on disclosure exists, prior availability does not licences repeated violation. The Court imposed a fine of ₹5 lakh on the portal, directed the offending article to be taken down within 24 hours, and issued a show-cause notice to the editor for personal liability under Section 23 read with Section 24 POCSO. The Court directed the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to issue a circular reiterating the Section 23 prohibition to all registered news portals.