Supreme Court Dismisses PIL Challenging Arundhati Roy’s Book Cover

The Supreme Court of India dismissed a plea challenging the Kerala High Court order that rejected a PIL against Arundhati Roy’s book Mother Mary Comes To Me, which shows the author smoking a bidi on the cover.

The Bench of CJI Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi held that the book does not promote tobacco use and contains a publisher's disclaimer.

The Court observed that Roy is an eminent author, and the cover image alone does not require statutory warning under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2013.

The plea was dismissed, upholding freedom of literary expression.