Ahmedabad: 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 on Monday by two well-known persons from Gujarat.
The petition filed by Manishi Jani, a distinguished
poet and writer, and Prakash Shah, a professor of political,
in their petition said that the state government's move was
unconstitutional and demanded quashing of the notification
prohibiting the publication, sale, circulation and
distribution of Singh's book.
They have also requested that the implementation of
the ban be stayed till the decision on their petition.
On August 19, the Gujarat government through a
notification by the state home department banned Singh's book
on Jinnah stating that it was aimed at tarnishing the image of
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, who is considered to be architect of
modern India.
Petitioners have contended that by banning 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.
Bureau Report
First Published: Monday, August 24, 2009, 21:39