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A petition has been filed in the Delhi High Court seeking directions to stop the publication, circulation, and sale of former Union Minister Salman Khurshid’s book, "Sunrise over Ayodhya: Nationhood in our times" for its alleged remarks on Hindutva.

Filed by Advocate Vineet Jindal through Advocate Raj Kishor Chaudhary, the plea contends that the recently-launched book written by Khurshid wrongly compares Hindutva to radical jihadist groups like ISIS and Boko Haram through a comment in a chapter titled “The Saffron Sky” on Page 113 of the book, which reads as — “Sanatan Dharma and classical Hinduism known to sages and saints was being pushed aside by a robust version of Hindutva, by all standards, a political version similar to jihadist Islam of groups like ISIS and Boko Haram of recent years."

Further, it stated that the equivalence of Hinduism to ISIS and Boko Haram is perceived as a negative ideology that Hindus have been following and Hinduism has been portrayed as violent, inhuman, and oppressive.

Urging that the freedom of speech and expression under Article 19(1) of the Constitution has to be balanced with reasonable restrictions that may be imposed under Article 19(2), the plea states that "in a country like India, which is perpetually on a communal tinderbox, where religious sentiments run deep, where respect for certain public and historical figures always comes accompanied with veneration for their demi-god like status, it doesn’t take much for malice to be coated with a toxic communal hue based on the contents of the book," the plea stated.

Earlier, in a complaint to the Delhi Police, Jindal had demanded an FIR against Khurshid in the matter under Sections 153,153A ,298 and 505 (2) of the Indian Penal Code.

Cause Title: Vineet Jindal vs Union of India & Ors.