Supreme Court directs the Union to build a national database of hashes and URLs of child sexual exploitation material

17 October 2026

In Just Rights for Children Alliance and another v. S. Harish and Others, reported as 2026 INSC 1149, a bench of Justice J B Pardiwala and Justice K V Chandran has directed the Union Government to create a database of hash identifiers and URLs of confirmed child sexual exploitation and abuse material. The Court noted that its 2024 directions in the same case had not stopped circulation, because removal by one platform does not lead to automatic removal elsewhere. The database may sit within the existing Sahyog Portal or be a standalone repository, and must hold only hashes and URLs, never the material itself. Software may screen entries first, but at least three trained human analysts must each independently confirm an entry. Intermediaries must report such material to the Special Juvenile Police Unit, local police or the cybercrime portal under Rule 11 of the POCSO Rules, 2020; reporting only to foreign organisations is not enough. Self-detected removals must be reported within two hours, complaint-based removals within two hours of resolution, and database-match removals in consolidated weekly reports. Complaints must be acknowledged within 24 hours with a reference number. The Court also asked that digital safety and age-appropriate education be built into the core curriculum by NCERT and the State SCERTs, and directed the Union to file an affidavit on progress by the next hearing on 10 December 2026.