E-Paper
Why Rahul Gandhi's favourite pocket edition of Constitution is at centre of court case
Red-and-black edition seen with Rahul Gandhi constantly, including at recent “atom bomb” and “vote chori” presentations; and in Bihar campaign
Besides collared t-shirts and cargo pants, there's another thing that forms the all-season attire of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi since the 2024 Lok Sabha poll campaign heat — a red-and-black, coat-pocket edition of the Constitution.
Sales of the handy edition, put together by Supreme Court lawyer Gopal Sankaranarayanan and published by the Lucknow-based Eastern Book Company (EBC), have spiked notably among law enthusiasts and political junkies.
It made an appearance at Gandhi's “atom bomb” and “vote chori” presentations in the past few weeks, and traveled to Bihar, too, where the Congress and RJD are pitching the assembly election versus JDU-BJP as "a fight to save the Constitution”.
Gandhi's giant cutouts at party offices show him holding up the red-and-black edition too.
Publisher vs publisher in Delhi HC
But there's another place where it made a rather unexpected appearance recently: the Delhi High Court. And not because its content is every Indian court's guiding light — that it is — but over the particular design and form of the coat-pocket edition.
The publisher Eastern Book Company (EBC) has filed a case against Rupa Publications, seeking orders against its publishing and/or selling of a similar red-and-black coat-pocket edition.
The court has for now restrained Rupa, after finding its edition "prima facie" similar to the one published by EBC.
Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora said while passing the interim order on September 25: “(Rupa) has adopted a similar colour scheme, text and font, gilt edging, book posteen colour, and embossed gold detailing. Considering, that the plaintiffs (EBC) and the defendant (Rupa) operate in the same line of business, utilise identical trade channels, and cater to the same class of customers, there exists a strong likelihood of confusion."
The judge directed Rupa to remove all its unsold inventory, and remove listings from e-commerce platforms such as Amazon and Flipkart, within two weeks. The matter is next listed for February 25, 2026.
Compact and simple, selling a lot
EBC released its first edition in 2009. It is priced as of September 29 at ₹895 on Amazon.
In the past, when Rahul Gandhi was asked why he carried the lawbook with him, and why he preferred this edition, he has said, “I felt that the Constitution wasn’t something that the public were aware of. So, it was necessary to put it in the hands of the very people to whom it belongs. I wanted it to be a compact and simple edition with explanations.”
Last week in Bihar, when Rahul Gandhi promised more rights under the Constitution to the Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs), he was holding up, again, the publisher EBC's edition.
EBC pitched its sales at around 15,000 copies last year. This year's data was not immediately available.
“It is not an amorphous thing anymore,” Summet Malik, EBC director, had told HT last year, “We’re hoping that the interest not only comes from lawyers and judges but also from the general public.”
“The print run is in thousands because the demand has increased exponentially. We had to hurry up the process of printing the edition due to the immense demand,” he'd further said.
Bookstores in Delhi also reported a spike in other editions, and in books such as Fali S Nariman’s ‘You Must Know Your Constitution’, Anurag Bhaskar’s ‘The Foresighted Ambedkar: Ideas that Shaped Indian Constitutional Discourse’, and Austin Granville’s ‘The Indian Constitution’.
