'Satanic Verses' ban order missing, have to presume it doesn't exist: HC

India's three-decade ban on importing author Salman Rushdie's controversial 'The Satanic Verses' book has effectively been lifted after a court said the government was unable to produce the original notification that imposed the ban.

The India-born British author's novel was banned by India in 1988 after some Muslims viewed it as blasphemous. The Delhi High Court was hearing a 2019 case challenging the import ban of the book in India.

According to a Nov. 5 court order, India's government told the Delhi High Court that the import ban order "was untraceable and, therefore could not be produced."