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Salman Rushdie's outspoken views on Islam have made him a target of extremists.
Is it legal to import The Satanic Verses by Sir Salman Rushdie into India?
The question has perplexed legal experts since the Delhi High Court suggested this week that the notification banning the novel's importation – issued in 1988 – may no longer be valid because the government has been unable to locate it.
The Satanic Verses, criticized by some Muslims as blasphemous, was banned in India shortly after its publication, sparking protests around the world. Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran issued a fatwa in 1989, calling for Rushdie's assassination. This forced the Booker Prize-winning Indian author into hiding for almost a decade.
Although the book remains officially banned in India, some legal experts now believe it could be imported unless the government reaffirms the ban. Others, however, warn that practical obstacles may still exist.
The ban on the book came under scrutiny after Sandipan Khan, a resident of the state of West Bengal, attempted to purchase the book but learned that it was not published in India and that it could not be imported.
In 2017, he filed a Right to Information (RTI) application seeking an official notification banning the importation of the book, but was sent through a series of departments without finding it.
In 2019, Khan took the case to the Delhi High Court, arguing that the ban affected his freedom to read.
For five years, government services repeatedly failed to produce the notification, even though customs had similar files dating back to 1968.
Finally, on November 5, the court said it had no choice but to “presume” that such a banning notice did not exist and therefore could not assess its validity.
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A protester condemns Rushdie during a demonstration in Bombay in 2004
The case raises a perplexing question: Is a notice valid if no copy can be found?
The simple answer is that it hasn't yet.
The court did not say whether the book was accessible in India, but advised Mr Khan to pursue all legal options to obtain it.
Uddyam Mukherjee, Mr Khan's lawyer, told the BBC that federal ministries were also unable to provide a clear response to the court's request.
“I have never encountered a situation like this,” said Madan Lokur, a former Supreme Court judge.
If the notification is not found, then “technically no ban exists” and the book can be imported.
“However, the government may issue a fresh notification (banning the import of the book),” Lokur added, since the court did not declare the ban unconstitutional, but only said the notification was presumed to be non-existent.
Mr. Mukherjee argued that the book could now be imported “as there is no legal impediment” against the book.
However, some legal experts disagree.
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A photo dated February 17, 1989 shows Iranian women holding banners during a demonstration in Tehran.
Raju Ramachandran, a senior lawyer, said he found the suggestion “a bit extreme”.
“All the High Court is saying is that this particular petition has become infructuous (invalid) since the notice could not be found,” he said. “This did not give the petitioner the right to import the book. »
Senior lawyer Sanjay Hegde said the book could have been published in India if “someone had the courage to print it”, as only its importation was banned, not its publication.
“But after all the hubbub, no one wanted to print it in India.”
In 2012, the Rajasthan state government sought the arrest of four Indian authors – Hari Kunzru, Ruchir Joshi, Amitava Kumar and Jeet Thayil – after they downloaded some passages from The Satanic Verses and read them at a festival literary in the city.
At the time, many jurists believed that downloading a book whose importation had been prohibited could not be considered a crime. But online copies of the book are difficult to find in India.
Rushdie, 76, continues to face threats for his outspoken views on Islam.
In 2022, he lost an eye and spent six weeks in the hospital after being stabbed up to 10 times on stage at an event in upstate New York. The suspect, Hadi Matar, was charged with attempted murder.
In his recent memoir, the writer criticized the reaction to his book, noting that “no duly authorized body (in India) had reviewed the book, and there was no semblance of legal proceedings.” .
