Review article charts how the obscenity law has been a shaping influence across different forms of media in India, especially literature and art. By foregrounding the effect of Section 292 of the Indian Penal Code on the lives of a few renowned creative professionals, this article reveals the shortcomings of a moralistic approach to obscenity. Over the course of the 20th century and the early years of the 21st, the law has undergone notable changes, some inspired by comparative law developments and some unique to the Indian context. Through a thematic arrangement of case law, this paper throws light on the Indian judiciary’s quest to gauge and penalize obscenity. The ideologies which are brought to bear on obscenity highlight the need for an objective test. By criticizing the existing legislative definitions of obscenity and its doctrinal development over time, this paper will map the trajectories towards that objective standard.