The Kerala High Court has thrown out a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that objected to the book cover of Arundhati Roy’s ‘Mother Mary Comes to Me,’ which depicts the acclaimed author smoking a beedi. The petitioner had argued that the cover violated regulations by not including a statutory health warning.
However, a division bench, led by Chief Justice Nitin Jamdar and Justice Basant Balaji, noted that the petitioner failed to acknowledge the smoking disclaimer prominently displayed on the back cover. The court also pointed out that such matters are best handled by expert bodies established under the COTPA Act, 2003, rather than the high court.
The court further expressed skepticism about the petition’s intent, suggesting it seemed motivated more by a desire for publicity than by genuine public interest. “The petitioner, despite making him aware, has refused to take up the issue before the statutory authority, filed a petition without examining relevant legal position, without verifying the necessary material, including the presence of disclaimer on the book, has sought to invoke the extraordinary jurisdiction of this court under the guise of public interest,” the bench stated, concluding that the writ petition was dismissed to prevent the misuse of PILs for self-promotion or personal attacks.
The original PIL, filed by an advocate, had claimed the book cover promoted smoking as a symbol of intellect and creativity. The advocate specified that the objection was not to the book’s literary merit but to the image potentially influencing young readers to view smoking as fashionable.
Penguin Random House India, the publisher, defended the cover, confirming the presence of a disclaimer on the back stating the image was for representation purposes only and that the company does not endorse tobacco use. They also argued the PIL was filed without adequate research.