The Supreme Court granted anticipatory bail to cartoonist Hemant Malviya after he apologised for posting an ‘objectionable’ caricature of PM Modi and the RSS. The Court warned that his bail could be cancelled if he fails to cooperate with the probe.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday disposed of the plea filed by cartoonist Hemant Malviya, who was accused of publishing a caricature showing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in a disrespectful manner.
A Bench of Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice N.V. Anjaria noted that Malviya had followed its earlier directions by posting an apology on his Facebook and Instagram accounts.
The Court observed,
“We see no reason to disbelieve this statement.”
Earlier on August 19, the Supreme Court had directed Malviya to post an apology on his social media pages, while also making it clear that he could not delete the original caricature since it was part of the ongoing investigation.
The Court had also restricted him from reposting the cartoon. On Tuesday, the Bench clarified that the investigating agencies were free to seek cancellation of bail if Malviya failed to cooperate with them. With that clarification, the Court confirmed the interim protection granted earlier and made it permanent.
Appearing for Malviya, Advocate Vrinda Grover told the Court that her client had already issued the apology and also pointed out that he had not been summoned yet.
She submitted that Malviya was
“always ready and willing to cooperate with the investigation.”
Additional Solicitor General (ASG) K.M. Nataraj, representing the State of Madhya Pradesh, responded that summoning would take place only after the evidence was collected.
Earlier, on July 14, the State of Madhya Pradesh had strongly opposed giving relief to the cartoonist. At that time, ASG Nataraj had said,
“This is how social harmony is being disrupted..if something happens it will come on our head..they want to write an apology now..”
During that hearing, Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia had also taken a serious view of the caricature and remarked,
“This is a case where FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND EXPRESSION has been abused…particularly these cartoonists and stand up comedians..”
The Madhya Pradesh High Court had earlier denied Malviya anticipatory bail. Justice Subodh Abhyankar, while rejecting his plea, noted that the cartoonist had gone beyond the acceptable limits of free speech.
The order stated that Malviya’s Facebook page displayed the RSS in human form, wearing its traditional khaki shorts, black belt, and white shirt — the uniform of the RSS.
The Court recorded,
“This man is bending over with his shorts pulled down and exposing his bottom to the caricature of the Prime Minister, who is shown with a stethoscope around his neck and who is also holding an injection in his hand, which he is administering on the bottom of the person bending over i.e. RSS.”
The High Court further noted,
“…the post becomes more unsettling when the aforesaid derogatory lines involving Lord Shiva are also added to it, and which have also been favourably endorsed by the applicant himself who is also encouraging other people to experiment with the said caricature, which certainly cannot be said to be made in good taste or faith. It is apparent that the applicant’s aforesaid act is deliberate and malicious intended to outrage religious feelings of the complainant and the public at large by insulting its religion, which is prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony in the society…”
Rejecting Malviya’s argument that his work could be compared to that of famous cartoonist R.K. Laxman, the High Court said no such similar work had been brought before it.
The Court added,
“…the applicant ought to have used his discretion while drawing the aforesaid caricature, and he has clearly overstepped the threshold of freedom of speech and expression, and does not appear to know his limits.”
In the Supreme Court, Malviya expressed regret and filed an affidavit stating that he was genuinely sorry for his post.
The Bench, while taking note of it, remarked that it expected the apology to be genuine, saying it should not only be “from the pen but also from the heart.”
The case against Malviya was based on an FIR filed in Indore in May by RSS worker and lawyer Vinay Joshi.
The complaint alleged that Malviya’s posts had hurt religious sentiments of Hindus and disturbed communal harmony. The FIR mentioned not only the caricature of Modi and RSS but also alleged objectionable posts about Lord Shiva and other figures.
The police booked Malviya under several provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, including Section 196 (acts prejudicial to harmony between communities), Section 299 (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings), and Section 352 (intentional insult to provoke breach of peace).
He was also charged under Section 67-A of the Information Technology Act, 2000 (publishing or transmitting sexually explicit material electronically).
Earlier, on July 15, the Supreme Court had granted interim protection to Malviya from any coercive action. On Tuesday, this protection was made permanent, with the condition that if he failed to cooperate in the probe, his bail could be cancelled.
Case Title:
Hemant Malviya v. State of Madhya Pradesh
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