In 1988, India ruled Salman Rushdie’s “Satanic Verses” could not be imported. This week, the ban was lifted because officials could not find the original order.

The Satanic Verses, criticised by some Muslims as blasphemous, was banned in India shortly after its release, sparking protests worldwide. Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa in 1989, calling for Rushdie’s assassination. This forced the Indian-born Booker Prize-winning author into hiding for nearly a decade.

The Delhi High Court quashed the 1988 import ban on Tuesday in a case brought five years ago by reader Sandipan Khan, stating that India’s government had said the notification banning the controversial book was “untraceable”.

India's three-decade ban on importing author Salman Rushdie's controversial 'The Satanic Verses' book has effectively been lifted after a court said the government was unable to produce the original notification that imposed the ban.

( MENAFN - Live Mint) Salman Rushdie's controversial 1988 novel The Satanic Verses could become available in India for the first time in decades after a court in Delhi said the government was unable to produce the original notification document that banned imports of the book.

Salman Rushdie’s controversial 1988 novel The Satanic Verses could become available in India for the first time in decades after a court in Delhi said the government was unable to produce the original notification document that banned imports of the book.

India’s ban on the import of author Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses has been overturned by the Delhi High Court due to a remarkable situation – the original notification cannot be found. The 1988 magic realism novel,

The Delhi high court has said that an import ban on author Salman Rushdie’s controversial 1988 book The Satanic Verses appeared to be “non-existent”.