New Delhi, Sep 24 — The Supreme Court on Thursday granted the Centre a "last opportunity" to file its counter affidavit and action-taken report on the steps taken to implement its directions concerning mandatory reporting of Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse Material (CSEAM) by social media intermediaries.
A Bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and K. Vinod Chandran, hearing the matter concerning implementation of its judgment in Just Rights for Children Alliance vs. S Harish case, observed that despite its earlier order dated August 14, 2026, no counter affidavit or report had been placed on record by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and the Ministry of Law and Justice.
“Unfortunately, till this date, no such counter or report has come on record. The matter before us is extremely serious. We grant one last opportunity to both the ministries to file that counter/report,” the Supreme Court said.
In response, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) K.M. Nataraj, appearing for the Centre, told the top court that the government was taking the matter seriously.
“We are taking the matter very seriously. In the case of one of the companies, we have already issued notice and initiated proceedings,” ASG Nataraj submitted.
The Justice Pardiwala-led Bench directed the Centre to explain the steps taken to implement the directions issued in the 2024 judgment and curb the circulation of CSEAM.
It also directed that the report should indicate the precautions proposed by the government in future to prevent lapses on the part of social media intermediaries.
The Supreme Court further directed the Centre to serve a draft Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for dealing with CSEAM cases at least four to five days before the next hearing, enabling the petitioner to submit its comments and suggestions.
The matter will now be heard on October 15.
The proceedings stem from an application filed by Just Rights for Children Alliance (JRCA) seeking effective implementation of the Supreme Court’s judgment on the mandatory reporting of CSEAM by social media intermediaries.
In the judgment passed on September 23, 2024, the apex court held that intermediaries are required to comply with their statutory obligations concerning reporting of CSEAM to law-enforcement agencies, including under Sections 19 to 21 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and Rule 11 of the POCSO Rules.
The judgment also dealt with the obligations of intermediaries in the context of safe-harbour protection under Section 79 of the Information Technology (IT) Act.
The application by JRCA sought, among other measures, a uniform SOP for intermediaries covering detection and mandatory reporting of CSEAM, preservation of evidence and coordination among relevant agencies.
It also sought prompt uploading of offenders’ particulars to the National Database of Sexual Offenders, timely action by law-enforcement agencies on reports received from intermediaries and criminal proceedings against intermediaries failing to comply with mandatory reporting obligations.
The application was filed after a media report alleged that Instagram carried paid advertisements promoting CSEAM, raising concerns over compliance with the Supreme Court’s earlier directions and statutory obligations of intermediaries.