Supreme Court says no to ban on Kancha Ilaiah’s book

Hyderabad: The Supreme Court on Friday rejected a PIL by an advocate of Delhi seeking to impose a ban on the book Komatlu Samajika Smugglerlu (Komatlu Social Smugglers) published by Prof. Kancha Ilaiah.

The PIL was filed by Mr. K.L.N.V. Veeranjaneyulu which was dismissed by a three-member bench comprising Chief Justice Deepak Mishra, Justice A.M. Khanwilkar and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud.

The petitioner contended that the writer through his book was trying to promote enmity among different groups in society and targeting the Vysya community with an intention to humiliate and insult them.

The bench observed that banning of the book would curtail the writer’s freedom of expression which is guaranteed by the Constitution.

Kancha Ilaiah was a professor from the political science department from Osmania University and is currently the Director, Center for the Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy at Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU) in Hyderabad.