‘Not an advertisement for cigarettes...’ SC rejects challenge to Arundhati Roy’s ‘smoking’ book cover

Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday rejected a petition seeking a ban on Arundhati Roy’s book ‘Mother Mary Comes to Me’, which alleged that the cover image depicting the author smoking a cigarette or beedi violated central legislation on tobacco promotion.

Why did the Supreme Court reject the plea?

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi held that the image on the book cover could not be seen as an attempt to promote smoking, noting that the disclaimer printed on the back of the book further clarifies this.

“The book, the photograph, the publisher or the author, none of these persons have anything to do with promoting cigarettes. She is a renowned author. Even the publisher is renowned. It is not an advertisement for cigarettes”, the Court observed.

Upholding the Kerala High Court’s earlier decision, the Supreme Court concluded that the image does not amount to a violation of Section 5 of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003.

“The picture in the book does not constitute any violation of Section 5 of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003. We don't see any reason to interfere with the impugned order passed by the High Court,” the Court noted.

What did the petitioner argue?

The petitioner had approached the Supreme Court after the Kerala High Court dismissed his plea to ban the “promotion, sale, distribution, etc” of Roy’s book on grounds that the cover image showed the author smoking without a proper health warning.

During Friday’s hearing, the petitioner’s counsel argued that the disclaimer related to the cover image appears only on the back of the book and therefore does not sufficiently justify the depiction of smoking.

How did the court respond to the argument?

The Supreme Court agreed with the Kerala High Court’s conclusion that the image was not designed to promote cigarette smoking for commercial gain. The bench also verbally noted that the book cover is not being used in commercial advertising materials such as hoardings or banners across cities.

It observed that the issue relates solely to a book intended for readers interested in purchasing the memoirs of a renowned author.

After hearing the petitioner at length, the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal and upheld the High Court’s decision, bringing an end to the challenge against the book’s cover.

ANI inputs