The Delhi Police Special Cell issued a notice to Penguin Random House India seeking answers to numerous questions amid the escalating controversy surrounding the unpublished memoirs of former army general Manoj Mukund Naravane, according to police.
The announcement, issued on Wednesday, comes as competing claims about the book’s status – and the spread of what police say are unauthorized versions – have drawn the publisher, a former army chief and senior political figures into a widening public row.
Police are seeking answers from the publisher as questions mount over the leaked manuscript
The Delhi Police said the Special Cell has formally approached Penguin India through a notice seeking an explanation and reply.
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“The Special Cell of the Delhi Police has issued a notice to Penguin India. Through this notice several questions have been asked and answers sought,” Delhi Police said.
The development follows reports that the manuscript of Naravane’s memoir, Four Stars of Destiny, may have been illegally distributed in digital and other formats — an allegation that has already led to an FIR.
Naravane released a publisher’s statement: “This is the state of the book”
Naravane publicly supported the publisher’s stance, sharing his statement on X and adding a short message of his own.
“This is the state of the book,” Naravane wrote.
The post reinforced Penguin Random House India’s claim that the monograph had not been formally published in any form.
Penguin says book not published, warns of copyright infringement
In a statement issued on Monday, Penguin Random House India said it owned the exclusive publishing rights to the monograph and insisted that no copies had been released.
“In light of recent public discourse and media reports, Penguin Random House India would like to clarify that we own the exclusive publishing rights to the book ‘Four Stars of Destiny’, a memoir by General Manoj Mukund Naravane, former Chief of the Indian Army. We would like to clarify that the book has not been published. No copies of the book – published, distributed or digitally released, Rangu has not been published, sold or digitally released. House India,” the publisher said in a statement.
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The publisher also warned that any version currently in circulation – whether in print, PDF or online – would constitute copyright infringement.
Rahul Gandhi quotes Naravane’s 2023 post: “My book is now available”
The controversy also gained a political edge after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi questioned Penguin’s position, citing a December 2023 social media post by Naravane.
Speaking to reporters, Gandhi said he believed the former army chief over the publisher and argued that both accounts could not be accurate.
Speaking to reporters at the Parliament House complex, Gandhi read Naravane’s social media post on X (then Twitter), which read: “Hello friends. My book is now available. Just click on the link. Enjoy reading. Jai Hind.”
“This is a tweet made by Mr Naravane. I mean either Mr Naravane is lying and I believe the (former) army chief, I don’t think he will lie, or Penguin is lying. Both cannot be telling the truth,” the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said.
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“Penguin says the book is not published. The book is available on Amazon. Gen Naravane tweeted as I just read to you please buy my book. He tweeted it in 2023. Do you trust Penguin over Mr. Naravane? I trust Mr. Naravane,” Gandhi said.
Penguin responds: pre-order and publication are not the same
Following Gandhi’s remarks, Penguin issued a separate explanation seeking to distinguish between an announcement, pre-order availability, and publication.
In a statement titled “A quick guide to how book publishing works at Penguin Random House India”, the publisher said, “An announced book, a book available for pre-order and a published book are not the same thing.”
The publisher’s response indicated that promotional notices or seller lists could exist even though the book had not been officially published.
Congress says the memoirs contain “inconvenient” material for the government
Rahul Gandhi also claimed that the memoir contained statements that would be politically inconvenient for the government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, without specifying which passages he was referring to.
The Congress leader also said that Naravane has made certain statements in the book that are “uncomfortable” for the government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“Obviously, you have to decide whether the Penguin is telling the truth or the (former) army chief is telling the truth. That’s the point,” he added.