Supreme Court Grants Interim Bail to Cartoonist Amid Controversy Over Modi Caricature
Legal Protection for Cartoonist
A cartoonist from Indore, who faced legal action for portraying Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in a manner deemed disrespectful, received interim bail from the Supreme Court on Tuesday. The court's decision was reported by a legal news outlet.
The bench, comprising Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Aravind Kumar, warned that if Hemant Malviya, the cartoonist, continued to post offensive material online, the Madhya Pradesh government would be entitled to take necessary actions against him.
This ruling followed Malviya's apology regarding his social media post, with the court instructing him to submit the apology in Hindi as an affidavit.
Background of the Case
On Monday, Malviya consented to remove the controversial post after receiving criticism from the Supreme Court. He had approached the apex court to contest a Madhya Pradesh High Court ruling that denied him anticipatory bail.
The High Court had previously stated that Malviya had 'clearly overstepped' the boundaries of free speech and misused his right to express himself. It concluded that his arrest was warranted for custodial questioning.
The cartoon in question, published on January 6, 2021, depicted Modi as a doctor giving an injection to a figure resembling an RSS member, accompanied by a caption referencing the Serum Institute of India's CEO, Adar Poonawalla, who had controversially claimed that some Covid-19 vaccines were ineffective.
Public Reaction and Legal Proceedings
The Madhya Pradesh High Court noted that a Facebook user had altered the cartoon's caption, portraying the figure in the RSS uniform as addressing Modi as a divine incarnation and requesting a strong dose of the caste census.
Malviya shared this modified version on Facebook, asserting that his cartoons were public property meant for anyone to use. He claimed that the altered caption was well-written and not his own.
Following this, a complaint was lodged by an RSS member, accusing Malviya of disseminating derogatory content that defamed the organization and offended religious sentiments.
In May, Malviya was charged under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Information Technology Act, which address promoting enmity between groups and intentionally insulting religious feelings.
Malviya contended that he was wrongfully accused and that his work was intended as satire, arguing that he should not be held accountable for comments made by others regarding his caricature.