Indian Upper House of Parliament approves Child Protection Amendment Bill

The Rajya Sabha (upper house of parliament) in India approved the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Amendment Bill, 2019. The amended bill widens the definition of child pornography by including ‘photograph, video, digital or computer generated image indistinguishable from an actual child, and image created, adapted, or modified, but appear to depict a child’ and suggests stringent punishment for crime against minors. The bill includes death penalty for sexual assault on children, providing stringent punishments for other crimes against minors and introduces a new section that proposes penalties for storage and possession of pornographic material involving children.The bill will be sent to the Lok Sabha (lower house of parliament) for approval next.