September 27, 2025

The Supreme Court has slammed the door on a fresh plea to ban Salman Rushdie's famous book, "The Satanic Verses." On Friday, Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta heard the case but decided not to dig into it. The petitioners wanted the court to stop the sale of this hotly debated novel, calling it "blasphemous" and risky for public order. However, the judges pointed out that the plea was just another attack on an earlier decision by the Delhi High Court. That court had shut down a case last November which challenged the Rajiv Gandhi government's 1988 ban on the book's import. The Delhi High Court said since no official notification for the ban was found, it had to assume none existed. Back in 1988, the Indian government banned the book for "law-and-order reasons" because many Muslims worldwide found it deeply offensive. The petitioners told the Supreme Court they discovered on June 14 that vendors in Mumbai were freely selling the controversial book, and it was also available on a big online shopping site. They claimed the High Court dismissed their concerns too quickly, relying only on the government's claim that the original ban notice couldn’t be found. The petition also pointed to Section 11 of the Indian Customs Act, 1962, which legally supported the ban. It argued that after the Delhi High Court overturned the ban, the book started selling in India for the first time in 36 years. The petitioners warned this might disturb public peace, citing past attacks on the author and booksellers, plus the serious diplomatic fallout between Iran and the UK. They reminded the court that several other countries still tightly control the sale of "The Satanic Verses." But the Supreme Court was firm, saying, "You are effectively challenging the judgement of the Delhi High Court," and dismissed the plea filed by three residents of Mumbai. So, for now, the novel remains legally available in India, while old controversies simmer on!

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Tags: Supreme court, Salman rushdie, The satanic verses, Book ban, Delhi high court, Indian customs act,