FIR Filed Over Leak of Ex-Army Chief MM Naravane’s Unpublished Book ‘Four Stars of Destiny’
New Delhi, 9th February 2026: Delhi Police on Monday registered an FIR over the circulation of a pre-print copy of former Army Chief General M.M. Naravane’s unpublished book titled Four Stars of Destiny. The case was filed after information surfaced on social media platforms and online news forums claiming that copies of the book were being circulated despite not receiving official clearance for publication.
According to the police, the book has not yet received the mandatory approvals from the concerned authorities. During the preliminary inquiry, investigators found that a typeset PDF version of a book with the same title was available on certain websites. It is suspected that this could be the same copy prepared by Penguin Random House India Pvt. Ltd. for publication. In addition, some online marketing platforms reportedly displayed the book cover in a way that suggested it was available for purchase.
The Special Cell of Delhi Police has taken up the investigation to trace how the content of an unpublished and unauthorised book entered the public domain and to identify those responsible for its circulation.
The FIR comes amid a political controversy linked to the book. On February 4, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi was seen in Parliament holding a copy of Four Stars of Destiny. He had said that if Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to the House, he would present the book to him. Rahul Gandhi also claimed that he wanted to read excerpts from the book in the Lok Sabha, but Speaker Om Birla did not permit it.
Earlier, on February 2 and 3, Rahul Gandhi had attempted to read out an article from a magazine, which he said contained excerpts from General Naravane’s unpublished book. The Speaker did not allow it, leading to uproar in the House. The proceedings were adjourned, and eight MPs were later suspended for disorderly conduct.
The unpublished book reportedly reviews the 2020 India–China military standoff in eastern Ladakh as well as the Agniveer recruitment scheme. General Naravane served as Chief of the Army Staff from 2019 to 2022. At a literature festival in Kasauli last year, he had stated that he had submitted the manuscript to the Penguin publishing group and that it was awaiting government clearance. The book was sent to the Ministry of Defence for approval more than a year ago, but permission to publish has not yet been granted.
The controversy intensified after the Congress shared pages from a magazine article on social media platform X, claiming they contained extracts from Four Stars of Destiny. The excerpts describe events from August 31, 2020, during the India–China face-off in eastern Ladakh, including the movement of Chinese tanks towards Indian positions near the Kailash Range and the sequence of military and political consultations that followed.
Police said the investigation is ongoing and focuses on identifying the source of the leaked material and whether any laws were violated in making the unpublished content public.
