Supreme Court Rejects Petition Seeking Ban on Malayalam Novel 'Meesha', Says 'Writer's Imagination Must Enjoy Freedom'
The Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed the petition seeking a ban on Malayalam novel 'Meesha'.
New Delhi, September 5: The Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed the petition seeking a ban on Malayalam novel 'Meesha'. A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra dismissed the petition saying, "The writer's imagination must enjoy freedom."
The petitioner, N Radhakrishnan, had said that the book, written by S Hareesh, contained some content which will hurt religious sentiments. Earlier last week, the court had instructed that objectionable contents or paragraphs must be removed from the novel.
The CJI also maintained the banning books should not be a culture unless it violates the section 292 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The apex court also asked another Malayalam weekly, 'Mathrubhumi" to produce before the court the translation of three objectionable paragraphs of 'Meesha' in five days.
The controversial Malayalam novel ‘Meesha’ hit the stands last week. Soon after the book hit stands, a group of BJP activists were booked for setting fire to a copy of the book over the alleged anti-Hindu contents in the publication in Thiruvananthapuram.
Hareesh was targeted on the social media for allegedly denouncing women who go to temples in his book. Right-wing supporters have taken offence to a conversation between two characters in the novel.
With inputs from agencies
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 05, 2018 11:11 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).