A petition challenging the ban by the State government on Jaswant Singh’s book Jinnah—India, Partition, Independence has been filed in the Gujarat High Court today by two well-known persons from Gujarat.
The petition filed by Manishi Jani, a distinguished poet and writer, and Prakash Shah, an academician, in their petition said the State government’s move was unconstitutional and demanded quashing of the notification prohibiting the publication, sale, circulation and distribution of Mr. Singh’s book. They have also requested that the implementation of the ban be stayed till the decision on their petition is taken.
On August 19, the Gujarat government through a notification by the State Home Department banned Mr. Singh’s book on Jinnah stating that it was aimed at tarnishing the image of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, who is considered to be the architect of modern India.
Petitioners have contended that by banning Mr. Singh’s book, the government has imposed unreasonable restrictions on the citizens of Gujarat and violated their fundamental rights guaranteed in Article 19 of the Constitution of India. They further contended that the notification by the State government does not mention what actually it found objectionable in the book.
