While lifting a 36-year-old import ban on the book last November, the Delhi High Court said the Customs notification enforcing the ban was ‘untraceable’
NEW DELHI — The Supreme Court has refused to entertain a petition seeking a direction to ban Salman Rushdie’s controversial novel ‘The Satanic Verses.’
The court’s decision came on Friday as Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta heard a plea claiming that the book had become available in India owing to a Delhi High Court order passed in November last year, a Law Beat website report said on Saturday.
The book was banned in India in 1988 due to concerns over its depiction of Islam and the Prophet Muhammad. The ban was imposed by the Ministry of Home Affairs, citing potential disruptions to public order and possible offence to Muslim sentiments. This decision was met with widespread debate, with some arguing it was necessary to maintain communal harmony, while others saw it as an infringement on freedom of expression.
While the book has been a subject of controversy globally, its ban in India highlights the complexities of navigating free speech in a diverse and pluralistic society. The issue remains a significant point of discussion regarding censorship, artistic freedom, and religious tolerance in India.
The petition, filed through Advocate Chand Qureshi, relied on the Delhi High Court’s 2023 ruling that closed proceedings against the 1988 government ban on the book’s import. The high court had noted that since the authorities could not produce the relevant notification, it was presumed that the same did not exist.
“You are effectively challenging the judgment of the Delhi High Court,” the Supreme Court observed, dismissing the plea.
While lifting a 36-year-old import ban on the book last November, the high court said the Customs notification enforcing the ban was “untraceable.” A division bench while presuming that no such notification exists said, “From the aforesaid, what emerges is that none of the respondents could produce the said notification dated 05.10.1988 with which the petitioner is purportedly aggrieved, and in fact the purported author of the said notification has also shown his helplessness in producing a copy of the said notification during the pendency of the present writ petition since its filing way back in 2019.”.
In the same year, Rushdie faced death threats as Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, declared the novel blasphemous and issued a fatwa against him. Petitioner Sandipan Khan had filed a plea challenging the notification issued under the Customs Act restricting the import of the book. The petitioner had argued that he had been prevented from importing the book due to its ban, which was enacted through the Customs notification.
During the high court hearing, Advocate Uddyam Mukherjee appearing for the petitioner had submitted that the notification is neither available on any of the respondent’s websites nor is available with any of the respondents. The respondents have also been unable to produce or file it before the court. To bolster the argument, the petitioner drew the court’s attention to a Right to Information (RTI) application filed wherein it was confirmed by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) that the book was banned. It had further informed that the said notification was untraceable and therefore could not be produced.
Upon hearing the arguments, the court had said, “In the light of the aforesaid circumstances, we have no other option except to presume that no such notification exists, and therefore, we cannot examine the validity thereof and dispose of the writ petition as infructuous.” Accordingly, the court allowed the petitioner to import the book. “The petitioner will, therefore, be entitled to take all actions in respect of the said book as available in law.”
