New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has closed proceedings on a petition challenging a 1988 notification issued by the Customs banning import of the Booker Prize-winning author Salman Rushdie’s controversial novel, “The Satanic Verses” into India, saying none of the respondents could produce the said notification and it has no other option except to presume that no such notification exists.
The book, “The Satanic Verses”, was banned by the Centre in 1988 on the law-and-order reasons, after Muslims across the world viewed the book as blasphemous.
What did the petitioner seek from the High Court?
Petitioner Sandipan Khan sought declaration from the court the impugned notification issued by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs on October 5, 1988 and forwarded on October 6, 1988 to all state government/Union Territories for appropriate action under law to ban the import of the book “The Satanic Verses” is ultra vires the Constitution of India. He also sought to set aside other related directions issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs in 1988.
Compelled to approach court as was unable to import the book ‘Satanic Verses’: Petitioner
The counsel representing the petitioner submitted that he has been compelled to approach the court as he was unable to import the book “Satanic Verses” by author Salman Rusdie on account of it being banned by a Custom notification dated October 5, 1988, however, the said notification is neither available on any of the respondent’s website or is available with any of the respondents and in fact, the respondents have also been unable to produce/file it before the court.
The counsel, in support of the plea, drew the attention of the High Court to a reply received by the petitioner under the Right to Information (RTI) on November 29, 2017, wherein he was informed of the said book being banned. The counsel also mentioned an earlier order of the court dated November 2, 2022, as per which even the learned counsel for the respondents had informed the High Court that the said notification was untraceable, and therefore, could not be produced.
Said notification was untraceable, respondents told the High Court
Counsel appearing for the respondents told the High Court that the said notification was untraceable, and therefore, could not be produced before the court.
“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,” a bench comprising Justice Rekha Palli and Justice Saurabh Banerjee observed.
“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,” the bench said and added that the petitioner be entitled to take all actions in respect of the said book as available in law.
