Ban on Salman Rushdie’s ‘The Satanic Verses’ lifted? Know what Delhi High Court said in its decision

New Delhi: Delhi High Court has closed the hearing on the petition challenging the ban on the import of Salman Rushdie’s controversial novel ‘The Satanic Verses’. The court said that the officials could not present the ban notification issued in 1988. In such a situation, it has to be assumed that there is no such notification. On November 5, a bench of Justices Rekha Palli and Saurabh Banerjee ordered that this petition, filed in 2019, has now become infructuous. The petitioners are now free to take all action in relation to the book under law.

what was the whole matter

In 1988, the Rajiv Gandhi government had banned the import of the Booker Prize-winning author’s books citing law and order. Petitioner Sandipan Khan had approached the court arguing that he/she was not able to import the book due to a notification issued by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs on October 5, 1988. Its import into the country was banned as per the Customs Act.

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What did the High Court say in the decision

However, he/she argued that this notification is neither available on any official website nor with the concerned authorities. During the court proceedings, officials said that the notification could not be traced. The bench said that it has come to light that none of the respondents could produce the notification dated October 5, 1988, about which the petitioner is complaining. In fact, the officer who issued that notification has also expressed his/her inability to produce a copy of it during the hearing since the writ petition was filed in 2019.

Ban notification was not presented in the court

While giving its verdict, the bench said that due to these circumstances we have no option but to accept that no such notification exists. In such a situation, we cannot examine its validity and dismiss the writ petition as infructuous. The petitioner had also sought quashing of other related instructions issued by the Home Ministry in 1988.

This decision of Delhi High Court may open the way for import of Salman Rushdie’s ‘The Satanic Verses’ into India. This decision is being considered an important step in favor of freedom of expression.