Literature from the Indian context

A.G. Noorani, Police and Porn, 30(22) Economic and Political Weekly 1227 (1995)

The author criticizes the tendency of the police to first confiscate (what they believe is) obscene material without having to first register an offense. He suggests that a better alternative would be for the “concerned government departments to expedite action on police reports rather than make policemen judges of pornography”.

Anees Backer, Rejecting “Moral harm” as a ground under Obscenity law, 8 NALSAR Student Law Review 100 (2013)

This paper argues for the rejection of moral harm, which forms the basis of Indian obscenity law, as a ground for declaring materials as obscene. It concludes that it is strategically unwise to prohibit obscene speech.

Charu Gupta, “Dirty” Hindi Literature: Contests around Obscenity in Late Colonial North India, 20 South Asia Research 89 (2000)

The paper focuses on obscenity and sexually coded representations in Hindi literature and advertisements of late colonial north India with special emphasis on Uttar Pradesh, then known as the United Provinces. It examines the impact of print and new literary sensibilities, and analyses “the ‘moral panic’ that gripped a section of the British and Hindu middle classes in this period”, and its influence on the colonial understanding of the subject.

Chinmayi Arun, ‘Kiss of Love’ arrests and the heckler’s veto (The Hindu, 8 Nov 2014)

The author argues that police action against the Kiss of Love protestors in Kerala is a classic example of the State giving in to the Heckler’s Veto.

Law Commission of India, 109th Report on Obscene and Indecent Advertisements and Displays (1985)

The Report discusses the English and Indian law on obscenity. It suggests reforming the law relating to obscene and indecent advertisements in India and recommends amendments to the Indian Penal Code to strengthen the law.

Shrutanjaya Bhardwaj, Obscenity in the Kiss, (2017) 4 NSLJ 158

In context of the Kiss of Love protests, the author argues that kissing in public places is not “obscene” as understood under S. 294 of the Indian Penal Code. The display of kissing scenes in ‘U’-rated cinema films is used as an indicator while applying the Hicklin Test

Vallishree Chandra & Gayathri Ramachandran, The Right to Pornography in India: An analysis in light of Individual Liberty and Public Morality, 4 NUJS Law Review 323 (2011)

This article considers arguments of public morality and individual liberty and addresses the larger question of whether legalisation of pornography is a viable alternative in the present Indian society.

D.D. Basu, Commentary on the Constitution of India, 8th edn., pp. 2462–2494 (Wadhwa Nagpur, 2007).

This book is one of the most authoritative commentaries on the Indian Constitution.

Udai Raj Rai, Fundamental Rights and their Enforcement, pp. 101–111 (PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd., 2011)

The book discusses in detail liberty-based rights, including the right to freedom of expression and other Article 19 rights.

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