KOCHI: Kerala High Court on Monday dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed against the cover of Arundhati Roy’s book 'Mother Mary Comes To Me', featuring the author smoking, allegedly without a statutory health warning.
While dismissing the petition filed by Advocate Rajasimhan of Ernakulam, the court observed that, in view of the statutory framework under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003 and the Rules of 2004, such matters are to be decided by the Steering Committee after affording an opportunity of hearing to the parties concerned.
The Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, serves as the Chairperson of the Committee. The members include a nominated Member of Parliament, the Director General of Health Services, and others.
The Central government submitted that the Steering Committee is the competent authority to examine the allegations raised by the petitioner.
The publisher of the book argued that Section 7 of the 2003 Act applies only to persons engaged in the production, supply, and distribution of cigarettes and that the statutory warning is required only on cigarette and tobacco product packets.
The Act, they contended, contains no provision mandating such warnings on images, pictures, or photographs.
The publisher also produced a photograph of the cover of the book, which includes a disclaimer stating: “Any depiction of smoking in this book is for representational purposes only. It does not promote or endorse tobacco use.”
The court further noted that the petitioner, despite being made aware of the appropriate procedure, refused to approach the competent statutory authority.
The petition was filed without examining the relevant legal provisions and without verifying the necessary material, including the presence of a disclaimer on the book. The court held that the petitioner sought to invoke the extraordinary jurisdiction of the High Court under the guise of public interest.