1. This is a petition under Art.226 of the Constitution. The prayer in the petition is that the following notification dated 18th August, 1966 published in the Gazette of India dated 27th August, 1966 be quashed:
"Whereas in the opinion of the Central Government the book entitled"Tashkent Declaration and the Problem of Indo - Pak Minorities" written by Dr. A. J. Faridi, and printed at Chowdhury Press, 7 Zamir Mansion, Gwynne Road, Lucknow, contains prejudicial reports as defined in clause (7) of R.35 of the Defence of India Rules, 1962 ;
Now, therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred by R.45 of the Defence of India Rules, 1962 , the Central Government hereby -
(a) prohibits the sale or distribution of the said book or any extract therefrom or of any translation thereof, and declares the said book and every copy or translation thereof or extract therefrom, to be forfeited to Government; and (b) directs every person possessing any copy of the said book to deliver the same to the local police authorities."
It is a matter of common knowledge that on September 8, 1962 the Chinese attacked the northern border of India and that constituted a threat to the security of India. That is why