The Limits Of Law
Custom officials had impounded James Joyces Ulysses and Judge Woolsey had to decide whether the book was obscene or not. Judge Woolsey established two principles that deviated from the prevailing law on obscenity. First, one would have to estimate the effect of the book on normal people and not on perverted or abnormal individuals. Second, obscenity would have to be decided by reading the book in its entirely and not by considering isolated passages. Based on these two criteria, the judge decided that Ulysses was not obscene and a columnist commented that the judgement read like an exceptionally intelligent and enthusiastic book review.
The problem is that not every judge is a Woolsey and court judgements ranging from D H Lawrence to Grace Metalious provide ample evidence that courts should stay away from obscenity trials entirely.
Unfortunately, thats not the way things work. After Khushwant Singh, it is now Arundhati Roys turn. Thanks to a writ petition filed in Keralas Pathanamthitta district, The God of Small Things will have to face an obscenity charge under Section 292 of the Indian Penal Code. This section has a blanket provision. A work shall be deemed to be obscene if it is lascivious or appeals to the prurient interest or if its effect, or (where it comprises two or more distinct items) the effect of any one of its items, is if taken as a whole, such as to tend to deprave and corrupt persons who are likely having regard to all relevant circumstances, to read, see or hear the matter contained or embodied in it.
This sounds extremely complicated. Regardless of what is decided in Kerala, I have read TGST and enjoyed it. Hopefully, I have not been perverted by lascivious appeals to my prurient interest. Many years ago, Samaresh Basus Bengali novel Prajapati faced an obscenity trial. I now discover that the judgement on Prajapati was eventually delivered in 1986. But I read the novel in the late 1960s, when I was around 14. In fact, if my memory serves me right, Samaresh Basu had three such novels Bibara, Prajapati and Pataka. I read all three of them, serialised in a popular Bengali magazine. But today, I have absolutely no recollection of what these novels contained. I havent bothered to re-read them, although I keep re-reading Samaresh Basus short stories. The only recollection I have is of general bewilderment at what the fuss was about. Make no mistake, that is precisely the reason I read these novels in the late 1960s, because I was aware that there was some controversy associated with them. Had there been no
controversy, I would probably have stuck to Jane Austen or whatever else I was reading then.
About a month ago. I was messing around with the Internet. My elder son, who is 14 now, asked me if we could track down Pooja Bhatts nude picture. It took some effort. The picture wasnt on the site where newspapers had reported it to be. But we got it eventually and it wasnt even a nude picture. Pooja Bhatt had a swimming costume on her and my son asked me: Why are people getting so upset then? I had no satisfactory answer. The only satisfactory answer is that there are people who dont have better things to do with their time. To paraphrase Judge Woolseys first criterion, abnormal individuals will thrust down their norms on the rest of society.
There will be something else to fuss about now, in Chandigarh. A housemaid named Nirmala has offered her womb for rent to her childless employers. This isnt being done in vitro, nor is it medical conception arising out of the fathers sperm and the mothers egg. Surrogate motherhood is itself a problem and in the absence of any law on surrogate motherhood, the child will be illegitimate. On September 29, when the case is heard, the baby will not be recognised as a contract baby, which is what Nirmala wants. Nor will Nirmalas right to render the services of her womb be recognised.
While these are important issues, there are people who will focus on what should be irrelevant the mode Nirmala intends to use for her motherhood. This is not in vitro, or medical conception, but outright sex with the father. Indian culture is at stake, this is a licence for prostitution and public morality is endangered. Prosecute Nirmala under the Suppression of Immoral Traffic Act (SITA). Contrary to what some lawyers have suggested. You cant prosecute Nirmala for adultery, although the prospective father can be prosecuted. The outcome will lead to some more clogging up of courts.