Delhi Police Adds Criminal Conspiracy Charges in Naravane Memoir Leak, Issues Notice to Penguin
FIR expanded as Special Cell investigates unauthorized circulation of former Army Chief’s unpublished memoir
New Delhi, Feb 11 : The Delhi Police has widened its probe into the alleged leak of the unpublished memoir of former Army Chief General MM Naravane (Retd.) by adding criminal conspiracy provisions to the FIR, sources told ANI on Wednesday. The Special Cell has also issued a notice to Penguin India, seeking detailed responses regarding the controversy surrounding excerpts from Naravane’s pre-publication manuscript, Four Stars of Destiny.
The controversy began when Congress leader Rahul Gandhi attempted to quote from the “pre-print” version of the memoir during Lok Sabha proceedings, prompting objections from treasury benches. The Speaker subsequently ruled that unpublished material could not be cited in the House.
Rahul Gandhi later claimed the memoir was available online, citing a 2023 tweet by General Naravane announcing pre-orders of the book. “Gen. Naravane has tweeted, ‘Please buy my book’ in 2023. Either he is truthful, or Penguin is lying. Both cannot be right,” Gandhi said, alleging that the memoir contained content “inconvenient for the government.”
General Naravane clarified that his memoir has not been published yet. Penguin Random House India also reaffirmed that the book, though listed for pre-order, had not been released for distribution or sale, and any circulating copies would constitute copyright infringement.
Meanwhile, the BJP criticised Gandhi’s actions in Parliament, with spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla calling it “a disregard for parliamentary norms” and accusing him of creating embarrassment for the nation.
The Delhi Police investigation now focuses on identifying the source of the alleged leak and examining any potential collusion in the circulation of the unpublished material.
