Kochi: The Kerala High Court on Monday dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking action against author Arundhati Roy’s book ‘Mother Mary Comes To Me’ for featuring a photo of the author smoking on the cover. The petitioner had sought a stay on the book’s sale, alleging it violated statutory labelling norms under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003 (COTPA).

A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Nitin Jamdar and Justice Basant Balaji observed that, “Whether there is any infringement of Section 5 of the 2003 Act involves statutory interpretation and factual assessment. Such matters are to be decided by the expert body constituted under the Act, the Steering Committee, after giving an opportunity of hearing to the parties.”

The court noted that the petitioner, despite being informed, had refused to approach the competent statutory authority and instead filed a PIL “without examining the relevant legal position or verifying necessary material, including the presence of a disclaimer on the book.” Dismissing the plea, the bench cautioned that courts must ensure public interest litigations are not used for “self-publicity or personal slander.”

In an earlier hearing, the court had pointed out that the petitioner could approach the Steering Committee under COTPA rather than invoking the High Court’s jurisdiction. It had also reserved its verdict after hearing submissions from Penguin Random House India.

The publisher had informed the court that the book carries a written disclaimer on the back cover that, “Any depiction of smoking in this book is for representational purposes only. Penguin Random House India does not promote or endorse tobacco use.” When questioned about this, the petitioner admitted he had not read the entire book and was only objecting to the image on the front cover.
(With LiveLaw inputs)