TMI Blog1959 (4) TMI 40X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... re not obscene. Further it is contended that in the absence of mens rea the appellants should not have been convicted. In the written statement filed by appellant Prim in the court of the learned Presidency Magistrate it was stated that the books formed part of a routine consignment front overseas, for which no specific orders had been placed and that as thousands of books with about 75 new titles came every month, it was not possible to scrutinise all the books, some of which had passed through regular editions before being issued in cheap editions. 5. Section 292(a) in its relevant portion reads as follows : Whoever .... for purposes of sale .... has in his possession any obscene book .... shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three months or with fine or with both. 6. Mr. Chaudhury, learned counsel for the appellants, has argued that in the absence of any proof as to mens rea the conviction of the appellants should not be maintained. In support of his contention he has referred to several decisions, including Srinivas Mal v. Emperor 51 CWN 900 : (AIR 1947 PC 135), Hariprasada Rao v. The State, 1951CriLJ768 , and Bhola ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Mr. Justice Blackburn stressed this point: It is an universal principle when a man is charged with doing an act of which the probable consequences may be highly injurious, the intention is an inference of law resulting from doing the act . This principle was followed in Empress of India v. Indarman ILR 3 All 837 where Straight, J. observed that there was no alternative open but to presume that the accused intended the natural consequences or his act, namely, corruption of the minds and prejudice of the morals of the public. Now, on facts can it be said in the instant case that the appellants had no mensrea? There is no evidence whatsoever that the publishers from abroad sent these books to the firm as a matter of routine and without any specific indent. The appellants cannot be heard to say that the firm was used as a dumping ground for foreign publications. Moreover, when law enjoins that something should not be done it was the duty of the appellants to have seen whether the books received fell within the category of obscene books. There should have been some readers or selectors to verify the nature of the publications received. So far as the three impugned books are ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... der's case, AIR1952Cal214 . The criterion of youth may not be the only or the decisive factor but young persons no doubt are included in the category of the general public. It was stated to the Jury by Stable, J. in Philanderers case (1954) a All ER 683: A mass of literature, great literature, from many angles is wholly unsuitable for reading by adolescents but that does not mean that the publisher is guilty of a criminal offence for making these works available to the general public . But it is difficult, in my opinion, to subscribe to the theory of eliminating altogether the effect of a publication on the minds of young persons, for they also constitute the public. The average public, it should be borne in mind, does not consist of Archbishops on the one hand and libertines on the other. Neither a man of wide culture or rare character nor a person with depraved mentality should be thought of as being the reader of the literature in question. The effect produced by the publication on the ordinary member of the society has to be ascertained. Such ordinary persons are expected to be of normal temperament (vide Sreeram Saksena v. Emperor). The standard of the reader is nei ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... is murdered by the former who had come to think that the sister was evil itself. The descriptions are unabashed. The preliminaries to physical union have, been described so luridly as to be absolutely lascivious. We have gone through pages 15, 17-18, 24-25, as mentioned in the learned Magistrate's judgment, as also several other pages. Having also read the book as a whole We cannot but think that the book has a depraving and corrupting effect. It is true that incest may exist in society but through the ages this has been looked upon with horror. Merely to highlight the warping effect of unhealthy surroundings on the minds of the young people or to show the most unhappy ending of incestuous relations the author need not have described the intimate details of physical passion. Instead of creating a horrifying effect the book is likely to give rise to lascivious thoughts and some of the readers may even take it as glorification of a most horrible form of sexual relationship. To solve sociological problems the author need not have taken recourse to such realistic view and immodest details. We have read the book as a whole and we are satisfied that it falls within the category of o ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rld. Nor will innocent motives or object be of any avail, as was pointed out in Hicklin's case (1868) 3 QB 360 and in (1872) 7 CP 261 referred to above. Mr. Chaudhuri has referred us to many books including the Decameron, Laxness' Independent People, and The Mountain is Young, But it is no defence to show that other books freely circulating now are not subject to any ban. This is also the view of Straight, J. in Inderman's case ILR 3 All 837 refer-red to above. In the Reiter case (1954) 2 QB 16 Chief Justice Goddard commended the following passage : The character of other books is a collateral issue, the exploration of which would be endless and futile. If the books produced by the prosecution are indecent or obscene, their quality in that respect cannot be made any better by examining other books * * * . 13. Taking a most dispassionate view of the matter, the only conclusion which we are led to adopt is that the-books are meant to pander to the prurient taste of the public and! appeal to their baser instincts. They are found to be obscene within the meaning of Section 292 I. P. C. In our opinion the appellants have been rightly convicted. 14. Taking into ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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