KUNNIKKAL NARAYANAN Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner, Kunnikkal Narayanan, a detenu under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act and the Kerala Security Prisoners' Order, questions the order of the Government prohibiting the supply of two books to him. (The petition contains a prayer for relief regarding a letter written by him to the Chief Minister and the reply thereto of the Chief Minister, which, the Government Pleader has submitted before us, the Government has agreed to supply to the petitioner, so that the petition is now confined to the two books.) The first book is "Four Essays on "Philosophy" by Mao Tsetung; and the second book is "Mao Papers -- An Anthology and Bibliography" by Jerome Ch'en published by the Oxford University Press.

(2.) The provisions under which these works are denied to the petitioner is Clause.19 of the Kerala Security Prisoners' Order, 1971 as amended on 23rd December 1971. The relevant sub clause of Clause.19 is sub clause (1), which reads

(3.) Two arguments have been advanced before us: (1) that the books are not 'Mao literature', which alone are denied to the petitioner (that seems to be the case of the Government; and (2) that there is discrimination in not supplying the books to the petitioner. We shall now consider the two books separately.