Judgment : 1. The petition is filed seeking to call for the records in CC No. 101 of 2009 on the file of the learned District Munsif cum Judicial Magistrate, Kodaikanal and quash the same. 2. The respondent has filed a private complaint under Section 200 Cr.P.C for the alleged offence under Sections 292, 292-A and 293 IPC before the learned District Munsif- cum-Judicial Magistrate, Kodaikanal. According to the complainant, the petitioner has authored a book by name ”Breathless in Bombay” and the same was published in India. According to the complainant, the book was highly loaded with obscene stories with a view to expose the readers‘ mind to impure, lecherous substance. Particularly the chapter “Traffic” between the pages 23 and 58 was basically obscene and the complainant has extracted certain wordings of the chapter and would state that it has been written clearly with an intention to degrade the women of India and has been written without any conscience and the author is squarely coming within the purview of the Sections 292, 292-A and 293 IPC by writing obscene stories. 3. The learned District Munsif cum Judicial Magistrate, after taking a sworn in statement from the complainant, has taken the case on file in C.C No.101 of 2009. Aggrieved by which, the petitioner, who is the author of the book, is before this Court. 4. Ms. Geetha, the learned counsel for the petitioner would submit that the author is a Bombay based acclaimed writer whose books are sold worldwide and he was also nominated twice for Pushcart Prize and has won John Gilgun Fiction Award for the best story of the year and his book has also been shortlisted for Common Wealth Writers‘ Prize. The learned counsel pointed out that the book cannot be said to be an obscene object as contemplated under Section 293 IPC and will also not attract Section 292 or 292-A IPC. 5. The learned counsel pointed out that filing of a private complaint and taking cognizance is nothing but abuse of process of Court which has to be interfered with. 6. When the matter was taken up, though the respondent has been served with notices, there was no representation inspite of several adjournments. Therefore, the matter was heard and decided on merits. 7. Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner and perused the materials available on record. 8. 6. When the matter was taken up, though the respondent has been served with notices, there was no representation inspite of several adjournments. Therefore, the matter was heard and decided on merits. 7. Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner and perused the materials available on record. 8. The petitioner who is the author of the book named “Breathless in Bombay” has come forward to quash the criminal proceedings initiated against him before the learned District Munsif-cum-Judicial Magistrate at Kodaikanal. According to the complainant, he is a practicing lawyer in Madras High Court and a resident of Poompari village at Kodaikanal and he is a voracious reader. The complainant has recently obtained a book authored by the petitioner by name “Breathless in Bombay”. During the High Court Pooja holidays, he came to Poomparai village and during his free time, he read the book and was shocked to see the obscenity in the book. Therefore, the complaint was filed before the learned District Munsif-cum-Judicial Magistrate, Kodaikanal. 9. On the other hand, the petitioner would claim that his work is of a literary art and was acclaimed as a best book of short stories. Various reviews under the questionable chapter are also produced by the petitioner. 10. According to the petitioner, the following excerpts are extracted from the book, which are stated to be obscene and derogatory: i) She allowed him to curl up night after night in her arms in the fold of the body. ii) Her tenderness would give way to torrid love making mostly silent in the dark. iii) She would moan and groan away. iv) She hated herself for doing this, forbearing this willy, thrashing woman. v) It serves to enhance Nandakumar‘s confidence she was game. vi) When they were like this (compromising in position) she would dream of her old boy friends and old lovers, men she had been with for a night or a month, boys at her college who are there only to deliver, only to quench and made her feel empty and cheap, thereafter clearly. vii) ‘You fucking bitch, you are saying this, living in my room and sponging me‘. viii) she bent to see who this man was, who brought her home at 5.00 a.m, drunk and looking like she had been screwed. ix) He had thrown her out, calling her boss in house fuck”. vii) ‘You fucking bitch, you are saying this, living in my room and sponging me‘. viii) she bent to see who this man was, who brought her home at 5.00 a.m, drunk and looking like she had been screwed. ix) He had thrown her out, calling her boss in house fuck”. He said it was a right for a whore to be out and he had thrown her things out”. 11. I have heard the learned counsel for the petitioner and perused the materials available on record. Section 292 relates to sale of obscene books. Section 292-A relates to printing of grossly indecent or scurrilous matter or matter intended for blackmail. Section 293 deals with sale of obscene object to young persons. 12. A book shall be deemed to be obscene if it is lascivious or appeals to the base instincts or has the effect to tend to deprave and corrupt the persons who are likely to read the matter containing in it. 13. The obscene matter must be considered by itself and separately to find out whether it is so gross and its obscenity is likely to corrupt the minds of those people who are open to influence. 14. The learned counsel for the petitioner relied on a decision in ChandrakanthKalyandas Kakodkar v. State of Maharashtra AIR 1970 SC 1390 , wherein the Apex Court held as follows: “In the field of art and cinema also the adolescent is shown situations which even a quarter of a century ago would be considered derogatory to public morality, but having regard to changed conditions are more taken for granted without in any way tending to debase or debauch the mind. What we have to see is that whether a class, not an isolated case, into whose hands the book, article or story falls suffer in their moral outlook or become depraved by reading it or might have impure and lecherous thoughts aroused in their minds. The charge of obscenity must, therefore be judged from this aspect”. 15. She also relied on a decision in RanjitD. Udeshi v. State of Maharashtra LNIND 1964 SC 205 wherein the Apex Court has held as follows: “The Court must, therefore apply itself to consider each work at a time. The charge of obscenity must, therefore be judged from this aspect”. 15. She also relied on a decision in RanjitD. Udeshi v. State of Maharashtra LNIND 1964 SC 205 wherein the Apex Court has held as follows: “The Court must, therefore apply itself to consider each work at a time. An overall view of the obscene matter in the setting of the whole work would, of course, be necessary, but the obscene matter must be considered by itself and separately to find out whether it is so gross and its obscenity to decide that it is likely to deprave and corrupt those whose minds are open to influences of this sort and into whose hands the book is likely to fall”. 16. What is extracted from the book cannot be read in isolation. Down the ages there has always been literary license to use languages in such a manner as would convey the thoughts, feelings etc of the depicted characters. Of course, this could be said with a rider that the writing is not meant to vitiate the minds of the reader. 17. Therefore, certain words which are used to describe the character of a person in the story cannot always be taken to be as obscene and intended to corrupt the minds of the persons who may read the matter. 18. On perusal of the chapter ‘Traffic‘ and the extract as given by the complainant, I am of the considered view that none of the offences under Sections 292, 292-A and 293 would be attracted. 19. In the celebrated case of State of Haryana and Others v. Bhajanlal and Others, in AIR 1992 SC 604 : 1992 Supp (1) SCC 335 : 1992 SCC (Cr) 426, the Apex Court has clearly laid down the guidelines, where the inherent powers under Section 482 of the Court could be exercised. “102. 19. In the celebrated case of State of Haryana and Others v. Bhajanlal and Others, in AIR 1992 SC 604 : 1992 Supp (1) SCC 335 : 1992 SCC (Cr) 426, the Apex Court has clearly laid down the guidelines, where the inherent powers under Section 482 of the Court could be exercised. “102. In the backdrop of the interpretation of the various relevant provisions of the Code under Chapter XIV and of the principles of law enunciated by this Court in a series of decisions relating to the exercise of the extraordinary power under Article 226 or the inherent powers under Section 482 of the Code which we have extracted and reproduced above, we give the following categories of cases by way of illustration wherein such power could be exercised either to prevent abuse of the process of any Court or otherwise to secure the ends of justice, though it may not be possible to lay down any precise, clearly defined and sufficiently channelised and inflexible guidelines or rigid formulae and to give an exhaustive list of myriad kinds of cases wherein such power should be exercised. (1)Where the allegations made in the first information report or the complaint, even if they are taken at their face value and accepted in their entirety do not prima facie constitute any offence or make out a case against the accused. 20. If the allegations even taken to be true, on the face value, are not enough to constitute an offence. Therefore the proceedings are liable to be quashed and accordingly, it is quashed. 21. In the result, the criminal original petition is allowed and the proceedings in C.C. No. 101 of 2009 on the file of the learned District Munsif cum Judicial Magistrate, Kodaikanal is hereby quashed. Consequently, the connected MPs are closed.