Stories from the publishing world do not usually become front page news, but the controversy over the hotly anticipated Sonia Gandhi memoir, Belonging, has done just that. An unheralded part of the editorial process, the legal read, has become the subject of national discussion.It appears from statements made by Penguin Random House India that some of the book’s contents were flagged by the publisher’s lawyers for deletion, and after some rounds of discussion, the author was not willing to remove them, and consequently the publication by Penguin in India was shelved. [Publisher HarperCollins is now set to release Belonging in India on November 10.] Although Penguin has not revealed what the deleted portions were, and has said the discussions were confidential, sources have variably suggested they concerned Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh), communal riots and Chinese occupation of Indian territory.Why are legal reads so necessary for publishers, even before the book is published? And in the process of legal review, is the lawyer playing the role of a censor? A manuscript may survive an editor, but can it survive an over-zealous lawyer? As a lawyer who frequently works with media and publishing houses, I would like to first lay out the legal landscape and then explain the mechanics of the legal read.While our Constitution protects the freedom of speech and expression, that right is subject to reasonable restrictions which are set out in law. Apart from civil and criminal claims for defamation, our laws contemplate a variety of offences, including broadly worded sections criminalising outraging religious feelings, causing enmity between different sections of society, and obscenity. Other more specific legislations prohibit actions such as the divulging of official secrets, the identification of juveniles in criminal matters, and even the advertising of magical remedies.Increasingly, privacy rights are also being claimed by the subjects of reporting, and unlike in defamation actions, truth is not a defence for the violation of a subject’s privacy. The wide range of possible troubles a controversial non-fiction book about current events can run into causes publishers grave concern, and that is where the lawyers come in. A legal read is a review of a manuscript before it heads to the press with an eye to avoiding any potential legal danger.The legal readWhen publishers bring a manuscript for a legal read, the lawyer scans through the possibilities, both realistic and far-fetched, and goes back to the publisher with a list of passages that may have raised questions. While legal advice is conservative by its very nature, the test one adheres to is of “defensibility”. It is impossible to insulate a book from litigation or prosecution completely, or even to foresee fully what some person may find offensive, but it is possible to ensure that the contents are legally defensible. The legal read is a diagnostic and preventative step, but should not be so cautious as to turn into risk avoidance.