1-day state mourning in Karnataka for late Minister Umesh Katti; schools, colleges shut

News Network

September 7, 2022

Bengaluru, Sept 7: The Karnataka government declared one-day state mourning across the state on Wednesday as a mark of respect on the passing away of Minister Umesh Katti, who died Tuesday night due to heart attack.

The state government in its official notification said that the last rites of the minister, who held the food, civil supplies and consumer affairs, and forest portfolios, will be performed with full state honours. It has also declared a holiday to all schools and colleges, along with government offices in Belagavi district on Wednesday.

Katti had died due to heart attack at a private hospital in Bengaluru on Tuesday night. He was 61. According to sources, Katti collapsed in the bathroom of his Dollar's Colony residence in Bengaluru and was rushed to the hospital. Doctors there said Katti had no pulse when he was brought in.

His mortal remains will be taken by an air ambulance to his home district of Belagavi, from where it will be taken to Hira Sugar Factory in Sankeshwar for public to pay their last respects. The body will be later shifted to Katti's native village of Belladbagewadi in Hukkeri taluk, where the last rites will be performed in the evening.

Katti is survived by his wife, son and daughter. During the day-long state mourning, no official entertainment programmes will be conducted and the national flag will be flown at half mast in all official buildings and places, the notification said.

Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai had on Tuesday night broke down remembering his long association with Katti, calling him a "close friend and brother". Katti was an eight-time MLA from Hukkeri assembly constituency. He entered politics following the demise of his father Vishwanath Katti in 1985. Before joining the BJP in 2008, Katti was with the Janata Party, Janata Dal, JD(U) and JD(S).

He had earlier served as a minister in the Cabinet headed by J H Patel, B S Yediyurappa, D V Sadananda Gowda and Jagadish Shettar. Katti was often in news for his statements demanding statehood for the north Karnataka region and also openly expressing his chief ministerial ambitions.

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Mere downloading or watching of child porn is also offence under POCSO Act: Supreme Court

News Network

September 23,2024

New Delhi: Downloading and watching child pornography is an offence under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, the Supreme Court ruled today in a landmark judgment on the stringent law to prevent child abuse.

The bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justice JB Pardiwala set aside the Madras High Court order that had ruled that merely downloading and watching child pornography was not an offence under the POCSO Act. The Supreme Court noted that the high court had committed an "egregious error" in passing the judgment.

The Madras High Court's order had come in a case in which a 28-year-old man was charged with downloading child pornography on his phone. The court had quashed the criminal proceedings against the man and said children these days are grappling with the serious issue of watching pornography and society must be mature enough to educate them instead of punishing them.

The Supreme Court today restored the criminal proceedings against the man.

At the outset, Justice Pardiwala thanked the Chief Justice for the opportunity to pen this judgment. The order focused on Section 15 of the POCSO Act which lays down punishment for the storage of pornographic material involving children.

"Any person who stores any pornographic material involving a child and fails to report or destroy it is punishable with a fine of not less than five thousand rupees., and repeat offence will be punishable with fine of not less than ten thousand rupees. If the material is stored for further transmitting or propagating, then along with fine, it is punishable with upto three years of imprisonment. For storing child pornographic material for commercial purpose is punishable with three to five years of imprisonment, and in subsequent conviction, upto seven years of imprisonment," the Section says.

Justice Pardiwala said that in this case, mens rea is to be gathered from actus rea -- mens rea refers to the intent behind the crime and actus rea is the actual criminal act.

"We have said on the lingering impact of child pornography on the victimisation and abuse of children... We have suggested to the Parliament to bring an amendment to POCSO... so that child pornography can be referred to as child sexually abusive and exploitative material. We have suggested an ordinance can be brought in. We have asked all courts not to refer to child pornography in any order," the bench said.

The Chief Justice called it a "landmark judgment" and thanked Justice Pardiwala.

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