A appeal seeking a ban on Indian-British author Salman Rushdie’s controversial book “The Satanic Verses” was dismissed by the Supreme Court on Friday. Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta’s bench declined to consider the plea. This follows the Delhi High Court’s decision to lift the book’s ban, which was put in place during Rajiv Gandhi’s administration, in November of last year.
The court ruled that authorities had neglected to provide the pertinent notification that prohibited the import of “The Satanic Verses” in 1988. According to the supreme court, it must be presumed that a notification “does not exist.”
The petitioners’ attorney appeared at the hearing on Friday in response to the same high court judgement. The Supreme Court, however, rejected the request, stating that “you are effectively challenging the judgement of the Delhi High Court.” According to news agency PTI, barrister Chand Qureshi filed the petition. It challenged the book’s market availability after the high court’s ruling.
The Booker Prize-winning author’s book was outlawed in 1988 when Muslim organisations worldwide declared it to be blasphemous. Several Islamic organisations had protested the judgement even after the Delhi high court removed the ban in November of last year. Following the lifting of the prohibition last year, the book returned to the Indian market.