Smoking Glorified as Intellectual Expression?: Kerala High Court Seeks Government Response on Arundhati Roy’s Book Cover

The Kerala High Court has sought the Union government’s response on a PIL challenging Arundhati Roy’s book cover, claiming it glorifies smoking as intellectual expression without a health warning.

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KERALA: The Kerala High Court has sought a response from the Union government in a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that challenges the cover of Arundhati Roy’s latest book, Mother Mary Comes to Me. The PIL, filed by advocate Rajasimhan, argues that the cover image, depicting Roy smoking a cigarette without a health warning, violates the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), 2003, and its 2008 Rules.

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What the PIL Claims

Rajasimhan clarified that his petition does not challenge the literary content of the book. Instead, it focuses solely on the potential public health implications of the cover. According to the plea, the image of Roy smoking glorifies tobacco use as a symbol of intellectual and creative expression.

The petitioner emphasized that the book is widely accessible and could influence impressionable youth, particularly teenage girls and young women.

“The depiction amounts to indirect advertisement and promotion of smoking and tobacco products,”

Rajasimhan stated, noting that Roy’s global influence makes the issue more significant.

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The PIL invokes Sections 7 and 8 of the COTPA, which mandate statutory health warnings such as “Smoking is injurious to health” or “Tobacco causes cancer” on any depiction of smoking. The petition claims the book cover does not comply with these provisions, thereby violating Indian law.

Relief Sought:

The petitioner has requested the Court to:

1. Restrain the author and publisher from circulating or selling the book with the current cover.
2. Direct the Union government, Press Council of India, and state authorities to ensure compliance with COTPA.
3. Mandate a re-publication of the book cover with the necessary public health warnings.

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Court Proceedings

The case is being heard by a Division Bench of Chief Justice Nitin Jamdar and Justice Basant Balaji. The Court’s intervention could have significant implications for the publishing industry, particularly concerning the depiction of tobacco in books, magazines, and other media.

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