Overview
- Justice V.G. Arun directed the Kerala government to consider and communicate its decision on the publication request within three months.
- The petitioner, Roopesh T.R., convicted under the UAPA and IPC, wrote ‘Bandhitharude Ormakurippukal’ while serving his sentence at Viyyur Central Jail.
- The prison superintendent forwarded the application and manuscript to the Director General of Prisons with a recommendation, but the petitioner alleged undue delay and discrimination.
- The government pleader said the state is not opposing publication but will conduct detailed scrutiny to check for UAPA violations, defamatory or sensitive content, and any glorification of unlawful ideology, a process expected to take at least three months.
- The bench cited precedent affirming prisoners’ retained rights and noted that any denial must be based on deleterious content, aligning with prison rules that do not bar literary work.