Police Can Investigate Section 23 POCSO Act Case Without Magistrate Approval: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court ruled that police can investigate cases under Section 23 of POCSO Act without requiring prior magistrate approval, treating it as a cognizable offense.

This ruling came despite a split Supreme Court opinion on this issue in the case of Gangadhar Narayan Nayak vs State of Karnataka (2022), where Justice Banerjee and Justice Maheshwari had differing views on whether Section 23 cases require magistrate approval.

The matter is currently pending before a larger bench.

The specific case involved two persons booked under Section 23 of the POCSO Act for uploading a YouTube video suggesting the exploitation of a child artist in the Malayalam film 'Aami'.