Delhi High Court Dismisses Petition Against Import Ban On Salman Rushdie’s "The Satanic Verses" Due To Missing Notification

The Delhi High Court has concluded proceedings on a petition contesting the 1988 ban on importing Salman Rushdie’s novel, *The Satanic Verses*, imposed by the Rajiv Gandhi administration. The court noted that the absence of the original notification effectively renders the case moot, presuming that the document no longer exists. Justice Rekha Palli, who led the bench, stated in the November 5 ruling that the petition, active since 2019, is now infructuous, allowing the petitioner to pursue other lawful avenues regarding the book.

The book was originally banned due to global unrest and protests by Muslims who viewed it as blasphemous. Petitioner Sandipan Khan argued he could not import *The Satanic Verses* due to a notification reportedly issued by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs on October 5, 1988, as per the Customs Act, which is untraceable on official platforms or with relevant authorities.

In their observations, Justice Palli and Justice Saurabh Banerjee stated, “None of the respondents could produce the said notification dated 05.10.1988... The purported author of the notification also expressed an inability to locate it.”

Consequently, the court concluded that, without the notification, there was no basis for evaluating its legality. The court also noted that the petitioner had sought other reliefs to permit importation of the book through publishers or international e-commerce, but with the document missing, such requests are now unexamined.