36 Years On, Delhi HC Lifts Ban on Salman Rushdie’s Satanic Verses Due to Missing Order

The Delhi High Court has dismissed a plea challenging the 1988 import ban on author Salman Rushdie's book The Satanic Verses imposed by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC).

This decision follows CBIC's inability to produce the original notification dated October 5, 1988, and its admission to the bench that the document is "untraceable".

On November 5, a division bench declared the plea infructuous, noting that it had no choice "but to presume that no such notification exists".

The petitioner went to court after bookstores informed him that the novel couldn’t be sold or imported in India, and he was unable to locate the official import ban order on government websites.

The 1988 novel, The Satanic Verses, sparked controversy among Muslim readers for its portrayal of religious figures, leading to accusations of blasphemy. It was subsequently banned in several countries, including India, South Africa, and Pakistan.

In India, excerpts published in a magazine prompted politicians Syed Shahabuddin and Khurshid Alam Khan to demand a ban. On October 5, 1988, the government officially banned its import via a customs order.