Supreme Court Dismisses Plea To Ban Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses In India

(MENAFN- Live Mint) The Supreme Court on Friday declined to entertain a plea seeking a directive to ban Salman Rushdie's controversial novel, The Satanic Verses , effectively allowing the book to remain legally available in India.

The plea was heard before a bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta, and was filed by advocate Chand Qureshi.

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The petitioners argued that the novel, which has long been a subject of international controversy, should be banned in India due to its allegedly blasphemous content. The counsel representing the petitioners cited the Delhi High Court's November 2024 order in support of the plea.

However, the high court had previously concluded proceedings on a challenge to the Rajiv Gandhi government's 1988 decision to prohibit the import of the book. At the time, it noted:

“Since authorities have failed to produce the relevant notification, it has to be presumed that it does not exist.”

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The apex court bench observed that the plea was effectively a challenge to the Delhi High Court's earlier judgment. In dismissing the petition, the bench remarked:

“You are effectively challenging the judgement of the Delhi High Court.”

With this ruling, the Supreme Court signalled that no fresh legal barrier exists to the book's availability in the country.

What is The Satanic Verses and what was the controversy?

The Satanic Verses, published in 1988, is a Booker Prize-winning novel by British-Indian author Salman Rushdie. The book sparked widespread controversy among Muslim communities worldwide, who considered certain passages blasphemous and insulting to Islam.

The backlash included protests, book bans, and even threats to Rushdie's life, including a fatwa issued by Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khomeini. In India, the Centre initially banned the import of the book on law-and-order grounds, reflecting the intense sensitivity surrounding its content.

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The Centre had banned the import of Rushdie's Booker Prize-winning novel in 1988, citing law-and-order concerns.

Despite this, challenges to the ban have resurfaced in Indian courts over the years, reflecting ongoing debates over freedom of expression versus religious sensitivities.

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