The Kerala High Court has recently directed the state to decide on the application of a person convicted under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for permission to publish his book within three months.

Justice V G Arun noted in the order dated November 3 that the convict’s request to publish his book, Bandhitharude Ormakurippukal (Memoirs of the Incarcerated), cannot be denied in the absence of deleterious or harmful content.

The UAPA convict, currently lodged in Viyyur Central Jail, had approached the High Court following an inordinate delay by the state Prisons and Correctional Services authorities in deciding on his request to publish his book.

Earlier, the Superintendent of the Prison had forwarded the convict’s application and the manuscript of the books, along with

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