Penguin Random House India on Monday said the memoir Four Stars of Destiny by Manoj Mukund Naravane has not been published and that any copies currently in circulation are unauthorised and illegal. The publisher said no print or digital versions have been released, distributed, sold, or made available to the public by it.
In the statement, PRHI said it holds the “sole publishing rights” for Four Stars of Destiny. However, it stressed that the book has not been published yet. “No copies of the book — in print or digital form — have been published, distributed, sold, or otherwise made available to the public by Penguin Random House India,” the publisher said in a statement on X (formerly Twitter).
The clarification comes as excerpts and purported copies of the manuscript have reportedly surfaced in circulation. PRHI warned that any such material, whether shared “in whole or in part” and in any format — including print, digital files, PDFs, and other online or offline versions — amounts to copyright infringement.
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“Any copies of the book currently in circulation… constitute an infringement of PRHI's copyright and must immediately be ceased,” the statement said, adding that the company will pursue remedies available under law against the “illegal and unauthorised dissemination” of the work.
The publisher did not specify when the memoir is expected to be released or comment on the nature of the circulating material. It also did not indicate whether legal notices have already been issued.
PRHI said the statement was released to place the publisher's position “on record,” pushing a firm stance against unauthorised sharing of the book ahead of its official publication. General Naravane served as the Chief of the Army Staff from December 2019 to April 2022.
Statement from the publisher. pic.twitter.com/pksacg3EeT
— Penguin India (@PenguinIndia) February 9, 2026
According to the Delhi police, a case has been registered with the Special Cell to carry out a thorough investigation into the alleged leak or breach of a yet-to-be-approved publication, and an investigation is being taken up.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was seen flashing a purported copy of the book in the Parliament complex last week. He wanted to cite excerpts from the memoir in the Lok Sabha since February 2, but has been stopped as it has not yet been published.
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