The decadeslong ban of Salman Rushdie's “The Satanic Verses” in his native India is now in doubt — not because of a change of heart more than two years after the author’s near-fatal stabbing, but because of what amounts to some missing paperwork.

In 1988, India ruled that Salman Rushdie’s novel “The Satanic Verses” could not be imported. This week, the ban was lifted because officials could not find the original order.

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.

Excerpts from the book along with an interview of Rushdie ran in an Indian magazine in September 1988, which led to Indian politicians Syed Shahabuddin and Khurshid Alam Khan demanding a ban. On 5 October 1988, the Indian government banned the import of The Satanic Verses via a customs order by the Ministry of Finance.

Delhi High Court rules no evidence of ban on Salman Rushdie`s controversial novel, sparking debate on censorship and free speech.

The Delhi high court has said that an import ban on author Salman Rushdie’s controversial 1988 book The Satanic Verses appeared to be “non-existent”.

The Delhi High Court quashed the 1988 import ban on Tuesday in a case brought five years ago by reader Sandipan Khan, stating that India’s government had said the notification banning the controversial book was “untraceable”.

Salman Rushdie’s controversial 1988 novel The Satanic Verses could become available in India for the first time in decades after a court in Delhi said the government was unable to produce the original notification document that banned imports of the book.