Taslima Nasreen: Out-of-court settlement

The high court on Monday disposed of a suit by poet Sayed Hasmat Jalal, claiming Rs 11 crore as damages from Taslima Nasreen, for allegedly maligning him in her autobiography Dwikhandito, Amar Meyebela.

Justice Soumitra Sen, who had earlier passed an injunction on the print and sale of the book, disposed of the case after lawyers of both sides told him that the issue had been settled out of court, following the decision of the publisher and the Bangladeshi novelist to make certain changes to the text.

Taslima, according to Jalal?s petition, has mentioned in the book that she had an affair with the poet and that the two had spent some ?enjoyable? moments. Taslima has also allegedly written that the poet had made some controversial comments on the Hindu-Muslim relations in West Bengal.

Jalal?s lawyers ? Amit Basu and Subhojit Roy ? argued that the references to Jalal were aimed at maligning his character.

After the case was disposed of, publisher?s lawyer Amitava Mitra told Metro that his client and Taslima had agreed to replace the word ?Jalal? in Sayed Hasmat Jalal with ?Sharif?.

According to him, the writer has also agreed to expunge the portion that hinted at a ?special relationship? between the two. ?Moreover, some controversial sections on the Hindu-Muslims relationship will be either expunged or modified,? he added.

The day?s development has cleared a legal hurdle facing the sale of the book. The other major hurdle is the state government?s ban, which is being contested in the high court by the convener of the Association for Protection of Democratic Rights, Sujato Bhadra.

The government?s ban is based on the premise that book, if circulated, may disturb communal harmony.