The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a petition seeking a ban on Salman Rushdie’s controversial novel The Satanic Verses, citing that it effectively challenged the Delhi High Court’s order. The High Court had earlier lifted the 36-year-old import ban after finding the original Customs notification “untraceable.”
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain a petition seeking a ban on Salman Rushdie’s controversial novel, The Satanic Verses. The plea was heard before a bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta.
The petitioners’ counsel referred to the Delhi High Court’s order from November last year. The High Court had closed proceedings on a petition challenging the Rajiv Gandhi government’s decision to ban the import of The Satanic Verses in 1988.
The court had observed that since authorities failed to produce the relevant notification,
“it has to be presumed that it does not exist.”
The Centre had banned the import of the Booker Prize-winning author’s The Satanic Verses in 1988, citing law-and-order reasons after Muslims worldwide viewed the book as blasphemous.
The Supreme Court noted,
“You are effectively challenging the judgement of the Delhi High Court,”
and dismissed the plea filed by three residents of Mumbai. The petition, filed through Advocate Chand Qureshi, alleged that the book was available in India because of the Delhi High Court order.
The plea stated that the petitioners discovered on June 14 this year that vendors in Mumbai were selling the “controversial and blasphemous book” and that it was also available on a prominent online shopping platform.
It further alleged that the High Court had passed its order “perfunctorily” based on the government’s submission that it was unable to locate the original notification.
According to the petition,
“The legal basis for the ban was Section 11 of the Indian Customs Act, 1962, due to which the ban was imposed. However, after the Delhi High Court revoked the ban… the blasphemous book was being sold in India for the first time in 36 years.”
The plea also claimed that the book was highly likely to disrupt public order, as in the past, not only the author but also booksellers and those circulating the book faced physical attacks, and international relations between Iran and the UK were affected.
The petition also pointed out that several other countries have strictly restricted the sale of the book.
The Supreme Court reiterated its stance, refusing to entertain the petition. The Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta heard the plea, which argued that the book had become available in India due to the Delhi High Court’s November 2023 ruling.
The petition, filed through Advocate Chand Qureshi, relied on the High Court’s closure of proceedings against the 1988 government ban on the book’s import.
The court had noted that since the authorities could not produce the relevant notification, it had to be
“presumed that the same did not exist.”
The Supreme Court observed,
“You are effectively challenging the judgment of the Delhi High Court,” dismissing the plea.
The Centre had imposed the import ban in 1988, citing law-and-order concerns after widespread protests from Muslims worldwide who considered the book blasphemous.
In November 2024, the High Court lifted the 36-year-old import ban after finding the Customs notification enforcing the ban to be “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 argued that he had been prevented from importing the book due to the ban enacted through the Customs notification.
During the High Court hearing, Advocate Uddyam Mukherjee, appearing for the petitioner, submitted that the notification “is neither available on any of the respondent’s websites nor is available with any of the respondents.”
The respondents were unable to produce or file it before the court. To support the argument, the petitioner drew attention to a Right to Information (RTI) application, wherein the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) confirmed that the book was banned but added that
“the said notification is untraceable and therefore could not be produced.”
Upon hearing the arguments, the High Court 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 into India, stating,
“The petitioner will, therefore, be entitled to take all actions in respect of the said book as available in law.”
Case Title:
Mohd. Arshad Mohd. Jamal Khan v. Union of India
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