Manipur Child Rights Panel orders removal of graphic content involving minors, warns of legal action

The Manipur Commission for Protection of Child Rights (MCPCR) has directed individuals, social media users, and digital platforms to immediately remove graphic images, videos, and identifying details of minors circulated online following recent incidents in the state.

The Commission said it took suo motu cognisance of content related to two children who died in an incident at Tronglaobi on April 7, and a minor internally displaced girl whose body was recovered from beneath Singjamei Bridge on April 6.

In a notice issued on April 10, the panel said publishing such material in an “undignified manner” violates the rights, dignity, and privacy of children and may attract penal action under laws including the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012, the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, and the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023.

The Commission termed the circulation of such content a form of “secondary victimisation” and a serious breach of legal and ethical standards.

It warned that non-compliance with the directive would invite legal action.