SC dismisses plea against Malayalam novel 'Meesha'

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed a plea seeking ban on part of Malayalam novel "Meesha" saying subjective perception about the book cannot be allowed to come into the legal arena to stifle the creative imagination of a writer.

Dismissing the petition, a bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice A. M. Khanwilkar and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud said a book has to be looked at as a whole and not in a fragmented manner.

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The controversial novel 'Meesha' by S. Harish was strongly condemned and received protest from many Hindu organizations. The protest led to its withdrawal from the weekly it was published in. A few sections from the Novel were published in Social media too.

The controversy arose on some parts of the book. Where it was mentioned that Hindu women take bath and dresses up nicely before going to Temple because they are interested in sex. The novel also upset religious sentiments of Hindus where it reasoned the practice of not going to temple during the menstrual cycle with their disinterest to do sex during those days.

Giving the progressive verdict on the withdrawal of the book, Chief Justice Misra said that writers must have a free play with words, ideas, language, and perception. He also upheld the idea that imagination has to have a free play.

The petitioner had sought ban on a part of the novel which he contended had portrayed women and temple priests in an "objectionable" light.