During a recent hearing, the Kerala High Court directly challenged a lawyer’s petition to halt the sale of acclaimed author Arundhati Roy’s new book, Mother Mary Comes To Me. The court specifically questioned the petitioner’s failure to notice a clear disclaimer about the ill effects of smoking, which was prominently displayed on the book’s back cover.
The lawyer, Rajasimhan, had initiated the PIL on September 18, arguing that the book’s cover, depicting Roy smoking a ‘bidi,’ violated Section 5 of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act of 2013, which mandates health hazard warnings. He contended that the cover lacked the necessary statutory warning.
A Division Bench, presided over by Chief Justice Nitin Jamdar and Justice Basant Balaji, pointed out that the lawyer hadn’t even provided the court with a physical copy of the book. Rajasimhan admitted to only taking a photograph of the cover at a bookstore and stated he hadn’t seen any disclaimer. The court then pressed him on whether he wished to continue arguing the case on its merits or if he would prefer to consult the appropriate authority, as outlined in the Act, to determine if a violation truly occurred.
The petitioner clarified that his primary concern was the absence of a disclaimer on the front cover, not the book’s literary content.
In response, Penguin Random House India, the book’s publisher, submitted an affidavit including a photograph of the back cover. This image clearly showed the disclaimer: ‘Any depiction of smoking in this book is for representational purposes only…’, further asserting that the publishing house neither promotes nor endorses tobacco use. The publisher also requested that the court impose significant costs on the petitioner.
The next hearing for the case is scheduled for October 7.