Text Credits: Shibul Pavithran 

The Supreme Court the recently dismissed a plea seeking to ban the book ‘Meesha’ (Moustache) written by S Hareesh,  for allegedly depicting Hindu women visiting temples in derogatory light, saying “craftsmanship of a writer deserves to be respected”. The judgment was pronounced by a bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud, who said ‘the writer’s imagination must enjoy freedom’. The bench added that “subjective perceptions about a book should not be allowed to enter legal arena when it comes to censorship”.

The court assured that it would safeguard the free flow of ideas in a democracy by quoting Voltaire’s “I may disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” The court said the judiciary should remain committed to keeping the flag of democratic values and ideals of freedom and liberty flying high. “We live not in a totalitarian regime but in a democratic nation, which permits free exchange of ideas and liberty,” Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, who authored the judgment, observed.

The order came on the plea filed by Delhi resident N Radhakrishnan, who sought a direction to delete certain portions from a novel by S Hareesh as it allegedly defamed temple going Hindu women. Centre and the Kerala government had also opposed the petition saying free speech should not be curtailed. The petitioner had objected to a dialogue between two characters in the novel, which allegedly insults Hindu women, and projects them in bad light.

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