Satanic Verses not banned in India? Officials tell court they can't find order banning Salman Rushdie's controversial book

The Delhi High Court has dismissed a plea challenging the 1988 ban on importing Salman Rushdie’s controversial novel, The Satanic Verses, after noting that authorities could not produce the notification that imposed the ban. In a ruling passed on November 5, a bench comprising Justices Rekha Palli and Saurabh Banerjee concluded that without the original ban notification, the case could not proceed and was therefore “infructuous”, a TOI report stated.

Background on the petition

The case was filed in 2019 by petitioner Sandipan Khan, who argued that he was unable to import the book due to a notification reportedly issued by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs on October 5, 1988. The petitioner contended that the notification was unavailable on official platforms or with relevant authorities, complicating his efforts to challenge it. The Rajiv Gandhi government had initially banned the book's import in 1988, citing law-and-order concerns at the time.

Court’s observations on missing notification

During the hearings, the court noted that no respondent, including the purported author of the notification, could locate a copy of the document. The bench observed, “What emerges is that none of the respondents could produce the said notification dated Oct 5, 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 notification during the pendency of the writ petition since its filing way back in 2019.”

Court’s ruling on the petition’s validity

The court ultimately ruled that in the absence of evidence of the notification, it had no basis to examine its validity. “In light of the aforesaid circumstances, we have no other option except to presume that no such notification exists, and therefore, we cannot examine its validity and dispose of the writ petition as infructuous,” the bench stated.

Petitioner's further actions and related directions

The petitioner also sought the removal of additional directives related to the book issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs in 1988. However, the dismissal of the case due to the untraceable notification effectively ends the matter, leaving the petitioner to pursue any legal remedies still available under current law.