Supreme Court defends author’s right to free speech

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday refused to ban the controversial book ‘Samajika Smugglerlu Komatollu’ by Professor Kancha Ilaiah and defended the right of authors to speak their mind in their literary works. Instead, the bench led by CJI Dipak Misra defended the author’s right to free speech and expression. “Do you know what a myth is?” the CJI initially asked the lawyer seeking the ban.

The CJI then said that he cannot ban a book solely because it was controversial. The court spoke up for an author’s artistic licence, saying any such ban would curtail his freedom of speech and expression. However, the court said that it can only advise authors to be self-contained.

The Supreme Court then dismissed a PIL filed by Arya Vysya Association leader and lawyer Ramanjaneyulu to ban the book. The lawyer had claimed that the book had defamed an entire community of Arya Vysyas.