The Bombay High Court on Wednesday upheld the Maharashtra state government's ban on a book by a Supreme Court advocate, R.V. Bhasin, titled, 'Islam - A concept of Political World Invasion'. The book expounds Bhasin's theory of Islamic political imperialism through terrorism and intolerance.

Bhasin had challenged the ban before the High Court. A Full Bench consisting of Justice Ranjana Desai, Justice Dr. D.Y. Chandrachud and Justice R.S. Mohite probed into the constitutional validity of the order. The judges observed that while every person has the right to criticise, criticism must be healthy and not malicious. The Bench felt that the book was not a bona fide exercise in religious criticism, and was intended to promote communal disharmony.

Bhasin, appearing in person before the Court, contended that the book brought forward lesser known aspects of Islam before the public eye. Advocate General Ravi Kadam, acting as public prosecutor, however, rebutted his argument saying the book had been banned on grounds that it contained offensive material.

The state had issued a notification in 2007 banning the book under Section 95 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC). The section gives State Governments the power to declare certain publications forfeited, and to issue search warrants for the same. A similar situation had arisen in August 2009 when the Gujarat State Government had issued a notification banning former BJP MP Jaswant Singh's book 'Jinnah: India Partition Independence' under the CrPC. However, the Gujarat High Court had put aside the ban which had been challenged through a public interest litigation.

While physical copies of Bhasin's book may be inaccessible due to the ban, the book continues to flourish online. It is freely available on the author's website, as well as on several internet forums. Bhasin is also the author of several other publications, such as 'The Essence of Hinduism', 'Islamic Atom Bomb on Sale in World Black Market' and 'Indo-Pak Relations- 3^rd World War Inevitable'.