The Delhi High Court has concluded proceedings on a petition challenging the Rajiv Gandhi government's 1988 decision to ban the import of Salman Rushdie's book The Satanic Verses. The court ruled that, since officials were unable to provide the notification enforcing the ban, it must be assumed that it does not exist.

On November 5, a bench led by Justice Rekha Palli determined the petition, filed in 2019, to be "infructuous," allowing the petitioner to pursue actions related to the book as permitted under the law.

The Centre had initially banned the controversial novel in 1988, citing concerns over law and order due to global backlash from the Muslim community, which viewed the book as blasphemous. Petitioner Sandipan Khan argued that he was unable to import the novel because of a notification supposedly issued on October 5, 1988, by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs under the Customs Act. However, this notification could not be located on any official platform, nor was it accessible to the relevant authorities.

The bench, which included Justice Saurabh Banerjee, noted that no respondent could produce the October 1988 notification, nor could the issuing authority provide a copy despite the petition’s long-standing pendency.

"In view of these circumstances, we have no option but to assume that the notification does not exist. Consequently, we cannot assess its validity, and the petition stands disposed of as infructuous," the court concluded.

In addition to challenging the ban notification, the petitioner sought to overturn related instructions issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs in 1988, and also requested permission to import the book through its publisher or international online platforms.

Authorities admitted in court that the notification could not be found, rendering it unproducible during the proceedings.