Overview
- The bench asked the Union government to indicate what agency or mechanism under COTPA handles such complaints after querying the petitioner on approaching that authority.
- The PIL by Kochi-based advocate Rajasimhan seeks to prohibit sale, circulation and display of ‘Mother Mary Comes to Me’ with its current cover and to withdraw existing copies unless a statutory warning is added.
- The petition alleges violations of Sections 5, 7 and 8 of COTPA and related rules, arguing the cover amounts to indirect advertising and could mislead youth, particularly girls and women.
- Coverage highlights legal uncertainty over whether COTPA’s packaging and pictorial-warning rules, which explicitly address films, television and product labels, apply to images on book covers.
- The filing names the Union Health Ministry, Press Council of India, Kerala health authorities, Penguin India and Roy as respondents, and reports note the back cover carries a disclaimer that the publisher does not endorse tobacco use.