Magistrate did not check pornography cassettes; Kottayam native acquitted after 28 years

KOCHI: The High Court has acquitted a man convicted of keeping pornographic video cassettes in a shop, after 28 years. The High Court has acquitted a native of Kooroppada, Kottayam. Justice Kauser Edappagath issued the verdict stating that the case does not stand as per the Indian Evidence Act since the magistrate did not examine the cassettes produced as evidence on his own initiative.

The incident related to the case took place in 1997. The police had seized ten pornographic cassettes from a cassette shop owned by the petitioner in the Kooroppada panchayat. The action was taken on the grounds that the cassettes contained pornographic scenes. In India, selling, distributing and using pornographic scenes for commercial purposes is a crime. Subsequently, the Kottayam Magistrate's Court sentenced the Kottayam native to two years in prison and a fine of Rs 2,000. When the petitioner approached the Sessions Court against this, the sentence was reduced to one year and Rs 1,000. The petitioner then approached the High Court.

There are seven witnesses in the case, including the investigating officer as the seventh witness. The prosecution argued that the seventh witness, along with the first and second witnesses, viewed the cassettes at the shop itself and found that they contained obscene scenes. During the investigation, the Tahsildar viewed the video cassettes and testified that they contained obscene visuals. The then Pambadi SI also viewed the cassettes with the Tahsildar and testified that they contained obscene visuals.

However, the petitioner argued that the magistrate, who heard the argument as to whether the seized video cassettes contained obscene scenes, did not check the cassettes for pornography. This was accepted by the High Court. The High Court also observed that it was the duty of the magistrate to directly verify the evidence presented before him, even though there were witness statements. Therefore, the court ordered that the petitioner be convicted and the case be quashed.