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 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”.

Rushdie's novel was banned in the Asian country in 1988 due to controversy over its depiction of Islam and portrayal of Prophet Muhammad. View on euronews

A fatwa (ruling) was issued against Rushdie and his publishers in February 1989 by the then Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Violent demonstrations followed, and the book’s Japanese translator, Hitoshi Igarashi, was stabbed to death. Rushdie was forced to spend the best part of a decade hiding in London.

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.

The book was banned in 1988 by the Congress government claiming that it could give rise to law and order problems.