Kerala HC acquits man convicted 20 yrs ago for 'selling' video cassettes with obscene material

Kochi, Aug 28 (PTI) The Kerala High Court has acquitted a man accused of selling video cassettes with obscene content, 20 years after he was convicted and sentenced to two years imprisonment for it.

Justice Kauser Edappagath acquitted Kottayam native Harikumar on the ground that neither the magisterial court, which convicted and sentenced him to two years in jail, nor the sessions court, which upheld his conviction, viewed the video cassettes to ascertain whether it contained obscene material.

The High Court said that when a video cassette which allegedly contains obscene scenes is produced as part of a case under section 292 (sale of obscene books etc) of IPC, the court must view and examine it to "convince itself that it contains obscene scenes".

"In other words, unless the court or judge personally views the video cassette and convinces itself of the obscenity in the content, it cannot be said that there is substantive evidence before the court to render a finding that offence under section 292 is attracted," the HC said in its August 8 decision.

It said that in the instant case, direct examination of the contents of the video cassettes by the court was necessary to prove that it contained obscene materials.

The High Court noted that it was not done in the instant case.

"The entire approach of the trial court as well as the appellate court in dealing with the evidence and law on the point was wrong," it said.

"Accordingly, the criminal revision petition is allowed. The conviction and sentence are hereby set aside. The petitioner (Harkumar) is found not guilty for the offence under section 292 of IPC, and he is accordingly acquitted of the said offence," the High Court said.

Harikumar had in his plea challenged the decisions of both the magisterial and sessions court. PTI HMP HMP ROH