The Supreme Court on Wednesday, 5 September, dismissed a plea seeking to ban the book Meesha for allegedly depicting Hindu women visiting temples in derogatory light, saying "craftsmanship of a writer deserves to be respected".
A bench headed by Chief justice Dipak Misra said a book must not be read in a "fragmented manner" but as a whole.
“Subjective perception about a book should not be allowed to enter legal arena with regard to censorship,” the bench, also comprising Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud said.
The bench also said that the writer should be allowed to play with words like a painter who plays with colour.
The apex court's order came on a plea by Delhi resident N Radhakrishnan, who had sought to omit excerpts from the Malayalam novel Meesha (Moustache) written by S Hareesh.
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