Overview
- Justice V.G. Arun directed the Kerala government to decide and communicate its position within three months on Roopesh T.R.’s request to publish his prison‑written memoir, Bandhitharude Ormakurippukal.
- Roopesh, an alleged Maoist leader convicted under the UAPA and IPC and lodged at Viyyur Central Jail, moved the court after his application was forwarded to the prisons chief but no decision followed.
- The government pleader said the state is not opposed to publication but will scrutinize the manuscript for possible UAPA violations or defamatory, derogatory, or sensitive content, including any incitement or glorification of banned groups.
- The court held that conviction does not erase fundamental rights, cited the Supreme Court’s Sanzgiri precedent, and noted the Kerala Prisons Act and Rules contain no provision authorizing a blanket ban on prisoner publications.
- The judgment allowed stricter examination of inmate writings yet rejected insurmountable hurdles, and it recorded Roopesh’s rehabilitation efforts, including a completed IGNOU master’s and ongoing postgraduate studies.