Overview
- A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi refused to interfere with the Kerala High Court’s October 13 dismissal of the PIL.
- The court held that Section 5 of COTPA targets advertisements, not a book cover image seen by readers who choose to buy the memoir.
- Judges noted Penguin Random House India included a disclaimer stating the depiction does not endorse tobacco use.
- The bench questioned the petitioner’s motives, calling it a publicity-driven filing and observing that no large public hoardings promoted the image.
- The petitioner had sought a ban on sale, circulation, and display of the book for lack of a statutory warning, even speculating about the substance in the image.