New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday rejected a petition seeking to ban the sale, display, and circulation of Arundhati Roy’s book, ‘Mother Mary Comes to Me’, which features a photograph of the author smoking on its cover. The Bench, headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant along with Justice Joymalya Bagchi, termed the petition a “publicity litigation” and cautioned against filing cases merely to attract attention.
The petitioner, Rajasimhan, had approached the apex court after the Kerala High Court dismissed his PIL on October 13, claiming that the cover violated Section 5 of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003 (COTPA). The law prohibits advertisements and promotions of tobacco products.
“This is not an advertisement. You may disagree with the views of the author, but that does not mean such a case can lie,” the Bench observed. The court noted that Roy, a renowned literary figure, had neither promoted smoking in her book nor used it as a medium to advertise tobacco. The cover was intended solely for readers purchasing the book and did not constitute a public advertisement.
The Bench further pointed out that the book already carries warnings regarding smoking, and there is no public display or hoarding featuring the image, reinforcing that the publication does not contravene the provisions of COTPA.
“Why do such a thing for publicity? The book, publisher, and author have nothing to do with advertising cigarettes,” the Chief Justice remarked, emphasizing that judicial time should not be consumed by petitions filed primarily for attention-seeking purposes.
The Supreme Court’s decision reinforces the principle that artistic expression and literary works are protected as long as they do not actively promote prohibited products or contravene the law. Readers who purchase the book do so voluntarily, and a cover image alone cannot be treated as a public advertisement for tobacco products.
The dismissal closes the chapter on the controversy, allowing Roy’s latest work to continue circulating without legal restriction, while sending a clear message against frivolous PILs targeting creative expression.
