A special bench of the Gujarat high court struck down the ban imposed by the Narendra Modi government on the book by Jaswant Singh.
A special bench of the Gujarat high court on Friday struck down the ban imposed by the Narendra Modi government on the book, ‘Jinnah- India, Partition, Independence’, written by expelled BJP leader Jaswant Singh. The state government had banned the book on August 19 through a government notification, claiming that, among other things, Singh’s book cast aspersions on Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
“We are of the view that the notification issued by the state government under section 95 of the criminal procedure code (CrPC) falls short of the statutory requirements of that section and, consequently, it cannot stand in the eyes of law,” observed the three-judge bench comprising chief justice KS Radhakrishnan, justice Akil Kureshi and justice KM Thaker.
In delivering its judgement, the bench ignored the arguments of the additional advocate general, Tushar Mehta, who said that the government wanted to issue a fresh notification and, hence, it should be given some time. But Anand Yagnik, counsel of the petitioners, opposed Mehta’s plea on the ground that it would amount to granting extension to the existing notification.
At this, the bench pointed out: “We find no justification to accede to the [government counsel’s] prayer since, in the instant case, we are only concerned with the validity and legality of the notification (of August 19) impugned in this application.”
The government ban on Jaswant Singh’s book had sparked off an intense debate among activists and prominent citizens.It was challenged by civil rights activists Prakash Shah and Manish Jani, who filed a PIL in the Gujarat high court questioning the legality of the government notification imposing the ban. The court was packed to capacity on Friday when the bench pronounced its verdict.
The government notification of August 19 had claimed that the book’s contents were ‘highly objectionable’, ‘against the national interest’, ‘against public tranquillity’ and ‘against the interest of the state’. According to the government, the book projected a derogatory image of Sardar Patel, who was one of India’s greatest statesmen.
Anand Yagnik, the petitioners’ counsel, submitted that the petitioners did not support any denigration of Sardar Patel but it was their right to know the contents of the book and to express their opinion for or against it.
Special reports, p3
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