Raju Ramachandran, a senior lawyer, thought it was “a bit extreme” to say that the book could be imported.
“All the High Court is saying is that this particular petition has become futile (void) as no notice has been found,” he said. “It did not entitle the applicant to import the book.”
Senior lawyer Sanjay Hegde said the book could have been published in India if “someone was brave enough to print it” as only its import, not publication, was banned.
“But after all the hype, nobody wanted to print it in India.”
In 2012, Rajasthan State Govt sought arrest, external by four Indian authors – Hari Kunzru, Ruchira Joshi, Amitava Kumar and Jeeta Taila – after they downloaded several excerpts from The Satanic Verses and read them at a literary festival in the city.
At the time, many jurists believed that downloading a book whose importation was prohibited could not be considered a crime. But it was difficult to find copies of the book online in India.
Rushdie, 76, continues to face threats for his outspoken views on Islam.
In 2022, he lost an eye and spent six weeks in hospital after being stabbed up to 10 times on stage at an event in New York state. Suspect Hadi Matar was charged with attempted murder.
In his recent memoirs, the writer criticized the reaction to his book, noting that “no properly authorized body (in India) had reviewed the book, and there was no semblance of a trial.”
