The Supreme Court of India on Friday dismissed a petition challenging the cover of Arundhati Roy’s latest book Mother Mary Comes to Me, which depicts the author smoking a cigarette. The plea had alleged that the image violated Section 5 of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003 (COTPA), which prohibits advertising of tobacco products.

A Bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, along with Justice Joymalya Bagchi, upheld the Kerala High Court’s October 13 decision rejecting the same grievance. The Court held that the image on a book cover could not be considered a tobacco advertisement, as the visibility of the picture is restricted to individuals who consciously choose to purchase and read the book.

The Bench noted that Roy is a well-known literary figure, and there was no attempt to promote smoking. The Court observed that neither the author nor the publisher had created any public display such as billboards or hoardings aimed at encouraging tobacco use. Since the book includes the statutory health warning, the Court found no legal violation.

Emphasizing that disagreement with the views of an author cannot be grounds for invoking regulatory provisions meant for tobacco advertising, the judges characterised the litigation as being filed for publicity rather than to address a genuine legal concern. The petition was therefore dismissed at the threshold.