Supreme Court of India Rejects Petition to Ban Salman Rushdie's "The Satanic Verses"

The petitioners claimed the controversial book became available following the Delhi High Court's order. (File)

New Delhi:

On Friday, the Supreme Court declined to hear a petition requesting a prohibition on Salman Rushdie's controversial novel "The Satanic Verses". The matter was presented before a bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta.

During the hearing, the petitioners' legal representative referenced the Delhi High Court's order from November last year.

In that ruling, the Delhi High Court had terminated proceedings on a petition that challenged the Rajiv Gandhi government's 1988 decision to ban the import of "The Satanic Verses". The court stated that since authorities failed to produce the relevant notification, it must be presumed non-existent.

"You are effectively challenging the judgement of the Delhi High Court," observed the Supreme Court bench while dismissing the petition.

The petition was submitted to the Supreme Court through advocate Chand Qureshi. It argued that the book had become accessible as a result of the high court's order. In 1988, the Centre had prohibited the import of the Booker Prize-winning author's "The Satanic Verses" for law-and-order concerns, following worldwide protests from Muslims who considered the book blasphemous.