Is this for popularity? SC asks as it junks plea opposing Arundhati Roy’s smoking photo on book cover

Bench says: 'There is a disclaimer in the book...They have not promoted smoking, and did not need this photo to promote the book either. What can be your problem?'

Front cover of Arundhati Roy's 'Mother Mary Comes to Me' | X@Bahrisons_books

New Delhi: The Supreme Court Friday refused to admit a petition that objected to the cover of Booker Prize winner Arundhati Roy’s latest book, Mother Mary Comes To Me, which shows her smoking a bidi.

The petitioner, advocate Rajasimhan, argued that the cover image violated the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), 2003, because it came without a statutory health warning.

A bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi said the book carried a disclaimer and the image was not used to promote smoking.

“There is a disclaimer in the book. The author is a renowned person who has carved out a name for herself. The publisher (Penguin Random House India) is also a well-known publisher. They have not promoted smoking, and did not need this photo to promote the book either. What can be your problem? Is it only to get popularity?” the court said.

“There is no hoarding in the city with the picture of the book. It is for someone who will take the book and read it. Her picture with it does not portray any such a thing. Book, publisher or author has nothing to do with advertising for cigarettes etc. This is not an advertisement,” it added.

The petitioner went to the Supreme Court after the Kerala High Court dismissed his earlier plea on 13 October.

What happened in Kerala HC?

In his plea before the Kerala High Court, the petitioner sought a ban on the sale, circulation and display of the book without a statutory label, clarifying that he was not challenging the contents or the literary substance of the book. 

He described Roy’s picture as a “symbol of glorifying smoking as a symbol of intellectual and creative expression”. 

He said that the book had the potential to mislead the impressionable youth, teenage girls, and women in particular, by presenting smoking as fashionable because it was accessible to all.

He said Roy’s photo violated India’s tobacco laws by glorifying smoking without health warnings. 

The petitioner wanted the book banned, but the publisher, Penguin, defended the cover with a disclaimer about representational purposes. 

The Kerala High Court ultimately dismissed the PIL, noting the disclaimer and observing that the petitioner had bypassed the proper procedure involving a government committee.

The High Court said the petition was filed only to garner self-publicity and cast aspersions on Roy’s character.

(Edited by Sugita Katyal)