Mumbai, January 06: Islam or any other religion can be criticised, but a malicious criticism aimed at promoting communal hatred and painting the whole community as villainous is not permissible, the Bombay High Court held today.
Refusing to interpret Quranic verses, the court however advised that verses must be “correlated” and historical background must be kept in mind when interpreting it.
A full bench of the high court gave the judgement while upholding the ban on the book ‘Islam – A concept of Political World Invasion By Muslims’ written by advocate R V Bhasin.
The book was banned by the Maharashtra government in 2007 on the ground that it contained derogatory remarks about Islam and prophet Mohammad and insulted Muslim sentiments.
Bhasin had challenged the ban saying that it violated the right to freedom of speech.
–Agencies