Judgment

KRISHNA IYER, J. :- Some Cases, apparently innocent on their face - and this appeal is one such - may harbor beneath the surface profoundly disturbing problems concerning freedoms, the unfettered enjoyment of which is the foundation for a democracy to flourish.

2. The present appeal, by special leave, relates to the forfeiture of a book captioned Ramayan: A True Reading in English and its translation in Hind, by the late political figure and leader of the Rationalist Movement, Periyar EVR. of Tamil Nadu, by an order of the State Government of Uttar Pradesh, purporting to be passed under Section 99A of the Code of Criminal Procedure. In the view of the appellant-government this book was sacrilegiously, outrageously objectionable, being deliberately and maliciously intended to outrage the religious feelings of a class of citizens of India, viz., Hindus by insulting their religion and religious beliefs and the publication whereof is punishable under Section 295A IPC. This notification contained an appendix setting out in tabular form the particulars of the relevant pages and lines in the English and Hindi versions which presumably, were the materials which were regarded as sca