How did Regina v. Hicklin influence obscenity laws in former British colonies?

The 1868 case Regina v. Hicklin established a highly influential legal test for obscenity that significantly shaped the judicial landscape in many former British Empire territories.1

The Hicklin test defined obscene material as anything with a tendency "to deprave and corrupt those whose minds are open to such immoral influences and into whose hands a publication of this sort may fall". This standard had several profound effects on legal systems influenced by British law:1

• Focus on Vulnerable Readers: The ruling allowed courts to judge a work based on its potential impact on the most susceptible members of society, such as women and children, rather than its intended audience.1
• Isolated Passages: The test permitted the prosecution of a work based on isolated passages, meaning a book could be deemed obscene even if the majority of its content was not.21
• Persistence of Standards: While many Western nations began moving toward more permissive standards in the mid-20th century, many former British colonies, such as India, were slower to liberalize their laws and often maintained these older British definitions and obscenity standards for decades.3