Kerala High Court notice on plea challenging Kerala Lalithakala Akademy Award to cartoon

The Kerala High Court on Monday sought the views of the Central and State governments on a petition alleging that the Kerala Lalithakala Akademy conferred an award on a cartoon that allegedly insulted the nation (Haindaveeyam Foundation v Union of India & Ors.).Justice N Nagaresh issued notice to the respondents in the matter..The petition was filed by Haindaveeyam Foundation which is a registered trust that claims to have been incorporated with the objectives of promoting and propagating "patriotism/Indian nationalism, culture, customs and rituals".The petition was filed challenging the Honourable Mention Award that was bestowed by the Kerala Lalithakala Akademy on a Cartoon that, in the opinion of he petitioner, prima facie and disparaged India in the international arena.The cartoon in question titled “COVID-19 GLOBAL MEDICAL SUMMIT” showed a cow draped in an orange shawl representing India amongst doctors from England, China, and the United States at the summit.Anoop Radhakrishnan, Secretary of Kerala Cartoon Academy, who created the cartoon won the Honourable mention award along with a ₹25,000 cash prize.It was claimed that all the award winning cartoons at the Lalithakala Akademi Awards 2019-2020 portrayed India in a poor light but that the specific cartoon described above was particularly offensive. As such the withdrawal of the award is sought for. The petitioner had previously approached the State Cultural Affairs Department and the Akademi with a representation. However, since no response was received, the present petition was filed. "It is crystal clear that the Respondents have selected (the cartoon) with an ulterior motive to demean and disparage India. It is arbitrary, illegal, illogical, and devoid of rationale and hence the vivid violation of Articles 19(1) (a) and 21 of the Constitution of India. And the award is liable to be withdrawn," the plea said..It was also urged by the petitioner that the cartoon is to be analysed considering that as of October 2021, India has purportedly administered more than a billion Covid-19 jabs since it started the vaccination drive in January of this year and is the second country to achieve the mark."In such a factual scenario; the announcement of the award even after achieving such a laudable goal is nothing but to demean and disparage India amid the global arena. More so, India had taken adequate and timely measures to curb the said pandemic, to a great extent; relatively," the petition said. Further, it was contended that the awarded cartoon was made in poor taste considering the magnitude of health care professionals who lost their lives over the course of fighting the pandemic..On these and other grounds the petitioner prayed for withdrawal of the award and for dismissal of the present governing body of the Akademy for "mismanagement and misappropriation of public funds to foster anti-national artistic elements".