TMI Blog1972 (4) TMI 103X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... he Government if it appeared to the Government that the said book etc. questioned the territorial integrity or frontiers of India in a manner which was or was likely to be prejudicial to the interests of the safety or security of India. The relevant provisions of the Act are as follows :- Section 2. Whoever by words either spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representation or otherwise, questions the territorial integrity or frontiers of India in a manner which is, or is likely to be prejudicial to the interests of the safety or security. of India, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may ex-tend to three years, or with fine, or with both. 4. (1) Where any newspaper or book as defined in the Press and Registration of Books Act, 1867, or any other document, wherever printed, appears to the State Government to contain any matter the publication of which is punishable under Section 2 or Sub-section (2) of Section 3, the State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, stating the grounds of its opinion, declare every copy of the issue of the newspaper containing such matter and every copy of such book or other document to be forfeited to ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nd reproduction of 'the said books to be forfeited in favour of the Government. The second item in the Schedule relates to the appellant's publication. From the communication of the Deputy Secretary to the Government of Madhya Pradesh dated 5th August 1967 it would appear that the State Government took objection to pages 138, 147 and 149 of the said book as containing' wrong maps. According to the said communication .: These books contain maps of India, part of India, maps of countries adjacent to India and maps of Asia. All these maps involve the external boundary of India which has been found to be grossly incorrect. Besides this, the island territories of 'Laccadive, Minicoy and Amindivi Islands' which form an integral part of India are omitted together from every map of India. In some of the maps the territory of Bhutan has been omitted while in other Indo-Pakistan boundary is ignored. The communication refers not only to the publication with which we are concerned in this case but also two other publications both of which appear to be books on geography-for school students. The appellant, filed his writ petition on August 29, 1967 before the High C ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ccording to the State Government offended Section 2. In the order itself there is no reference to any map or any text in the book which would come within the mischief of the said section. A book may contain matter questioning the territorial integrity and frontiers of India in many ways one of which may be a wrong map which does not show the proper boundaries of India, either by omitting a portion of the Indian territory there from or by depicting a portion of what is really Indian territory as belonging to some other State. A book may also come within the mischief of Section 2 if there is any express reference in the text containing suggestions based on historical or political or other reasons that some portion of what is generally known to the public as Indian territory is not so.. 6. There is a considerable body of statutory provisions which enable the State to curtail the liberty of the subject in the interest of the security of the State or forfeit books and documents when in the opinion of the Government, they promote class hatred, religious intolerance, disaffection against the State etc. In all such cases, instances of some whereof are given below the State Government ha ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... been formed, furnishes a ground to Government for taking action contemplated, but the grounds on which the opinion itself is formed are and must be other grounds. Those grounds must necessarily be the import or the effect or the tendency of matters contained in the offending publication, either as a whole or in portions of it, as illustrated by passages which Government may choose. 9. In Harnam Das v. State of Uttar Pradesh [1962] 3 S.C.R. 487 the order under Section 99-A of the CrPC which was made went to show that the State Government declared the books forfeited on the ground that the said books contained matter the publication of which was punishable under Section 153-A and 295-A of the Penal Code. The two sections of the Indian Penal Code have little in common inasmuch as Section 153-A relates to an offence of promotion or attempt to promote feelings of enmity or hatred between different classes of citizens of India and Section 295-A relates to an offence maliciously intended to outrage he religious feelings of any such class by insulting the religion or the religious belief of that class. The order which was considered by the court in that case gave no indication which fo ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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