The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear the anticipatory bail plea of Indore-based cartoonist Hemant Malviya, who is facing criminal charges for allegedly uploading objectionable cartoons and social media posts targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), and religious symbols.
A bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Joymalya Bagchi scheduled the matter for hearing on July 14 after senior advocate Vrinda Grover, appearing for Malviya, sought an urgent listing of the plea challenging a Madhya Pradesh High Court order that denied him relief earlier this month.
Grover told the apex court that Malviya had drawn the cartoon in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the allegations against him do not warrant custodial interrogation. She argued that despite the offence attracting a maximum punishment of three years under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the High Court failed to apply the principles laid down in landmark judgments like Arnesh Kumar and Imran Pratapgarhi, which emphasise protection of personal liberty.
On July 3, the Madhya Pradesh High Court rejected Malviya’s anticipatory bail plea, observing that the cartoon in question amounted to a “gross misuse of freedom of speech.” The court remarked that Malviya’s caricature — which allegedly depicted the RSS and the Prime Minister alongside demeaning comments involving Lord Shiva — was a deliberate and malicious attempt to hurt religious sentiments and disrupt communal harmony.
“It is nothing but sheer misuse of freedom of speech and expression as enshrined under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution,” the High Court had said in a strongly worded order, adding that Malviya’s actions “clearly overstepped the threshold” of constitutional protections.
The court further held that Malviya’s endorsement of derogatory remarks and encouragement to others to share similar content justified the need for custodial interrogation.
The FIR against Malviya was lodged in May at Lasudiya police station in Indore following a complaint by RSS member and lawyer Vinay Joshi. The complaint alleged that Malviya’s social media activity — including posts, cartoons, videos, and comments — insulted Hindu religious figures and defamed the RSS and Prime Minister Modi.
The charges invoked against Malviya include Sections 196 (acts prejudicial to harmony), 299 (outraging religious feelings), and 352 (intentional insult to provoke breach of peace) of the BNS, along with Section 67A of the Information Technology Act, which pertains to publishing sexually explicit material online.
Before the High Court, Malviya had argued that he merely posted the cartoon and was not responsible for the comments made by others on the platform. However, the court dismissed this contention, holding him accountable for endorsing and amplifying the content.
With the Supreme Court set to hear the matter next week, the case has reignited the debate around the limits of artistic freedom, online expression, and the criminalization of dissent in the digital era.
