Delhi High Court on Thursday dismissed a petition to stop the publication, circulation and sale of Congress leader Salman Khurshid’s book Sunrise Over Ayodhya: Nationhood In Our Times, asking what it could do if people were “feeling so sensitive”.

The court was hearing a plea by lawyer Vineet Jindal who claimed the book “impinges upon the faith of others” as it compares Hindutva to radical groups like the Islamic State and the Boko Haram.

“Ask people not to buy the book or read it. Tell people it is badly authored, read something better,” Justice Yashwant Varma said.

The petitioner’s counsel had claimed the book could result in a breach of public peace and it was the duty of all persons to maintain peace.

“What can we do if people are feeling so sensitive?”

Justice Varma remarked and dismissed the petition. On November 17, an additional civil judge in New Delhi had refused to grant an ex-parte injunction on a lawsuit by Hindu Sena president Vishnu Gupta to stop the publication, circulation and sale of the book for allegedly hurting sentiments of a large section of society.

While declining interim relief, the trial court had said the author and the publisher had the right to write and publish the book.