Supreme Court criticises cartoonist Hemant Malviya over 'undignified' cartoon of PM and RSS
New Delhi, Jul 14: The Supreme Court on Monday criticised Indore-based cartoonist Hemant Malviya for publishing a cartoon that depicted Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in an "undignified" manner in the case [Hemant Malviya vs The State of Madhya Pradesh], Bar and Bench reported.
A Bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Aravind Kumar was hearing Malviya’s anticipatory bail plea, which was filed after the Madhya Pradesh High Court rejected his earlier plea. “This is indeed inflammatory,” Justice Dhulia remarked, calling the cartoonist's actions "immature", Bar and Bench reported.
Malviya was booked in May under multiple sections of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 — Sections 196 (promoting enmity between different groups), 299 (insulting religion or religious beliefs), 302 (act with intent to wound religious feelings), 352 (insult with intent to provoke breach of peace), 353 (mischief) — as well as Section 67A of the Information Technology Act. The charges followed a complaint by an RSS member regarding a Facebook post that allegedly contained objectionable content as reported by Bar & Bench. Senior advocate Vrinda Grover, appearing for Malviya, informed the Court that the post had been deleted and argued that it did not amount to any offence. “He is over 50... It is about personal liberty,” she said. Additional Solicitor General KM Nataraj, representing the State, remarked that the post remained offensive, even if deleted. The Supreme Court said it would hear the matter further on Tuesday.
Previously, on July 3, Justice Subodh Abhyankar of the Madhya Pradesh High Court had observed that Malviya’s depiction of the RSS and the Prime Minister, along with “derogatory” references to Lord Shiva, constituted a “sheer misuse” of freedom of speech under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution. The High Court held that his actions warranted custodial interrogation, stating that he had “overstepped the threshold” of free expression and encouraged others to replicate the offensive imagery. In his plea before the Supreme Court, Malviya claimed that the cartoon was created during the COVID-19 pandemic to comment on vaccine-related misinformation. He said the caricature was a satirical reflection on public figures’ comments about vaccine safety. Malviya also stated that another user later reposted the cartoon, linking it to unrelated political issues, including the caste census and Waqf properties. He clarified that he merely shared the reposted image to demonstrate public ownership of his work, adding that his cartoons were “for the public good” and could be reused by others without attribution.
