Will apologise on Facebook, Insta for caricature of PM Modi, RSS: Cartoonist Hemant Malviya to Supreme Court

Cartoonist Hemant Malviya told the Supreme Court on Tuesday that he would publish an apology on Facebook, Instagram and other social media platforms for creating an undignified caricature of the RSS and Prime Minister Narendra Modi [Hemant Malviya vs. State of Madhya Pradesh].

Advocate Vrinda Grover appeared for Malviya and made the statement before a Bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and NV Anjaria while it was hearing his plea for anticipatory bail in the case registered against him in Madhya Pradesh.

"I have already placed the apology according to the earlier order. I want to make an additional statement that it [the caricature] will be deleted from all social media platforms even though the case pertains to the Facebook post. I will publish the apology on my social media account as well," she said.

Additional Solicitor General (ASG) KM Nataraj appeared for the State of Madhya Pradesh and said that the post should not be deleted because the investigation is ongoing.

Let the apology be published on social media with an undertaking that he will not indulge in the same again and he may cooperate with the probe, Nataraj added.

The Bench agreed and said that Malviya should publish the apology within 10 days.

It extended the interim protection from arrest granted to Malviya till the next date of hearing.

Malviya moved the Supreme Court challenging the Madhya Pradesh High Court’s order denying him anticipatory bail in connection with FIRs registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Section 67A of the Information Technology Act.

According to the FIR, Malviya’s cartoon depicted a man in RSS uniform with his shorts pulled down and Prime Minister Modi administering an injection. The post also carried remarks allegedly involving Lord Shiva, which the High Court found “derogatory.”

In his petition before the Supreme Court, Malviya stated that the cartoon was a satirical comment published during the COVID-19 pandemic, aimed at public discussions around the efficacy of vaccines. He claimed that it was later reposted by another social media user along with commentary regarding caste census, which he only shared without endorsing the opinion.

During the previous hearing on July 15, the Supreme Court had expressed displeasure over some of the cartoons published by Malviya and floated the idea of framing guidelines around free speech.

Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia (who was on the Bench then) had remarked that offensive speech online has become increasingly common, even among legal professionals.

“What is happening today is all kinds of offensive statements are being made. The language they use… There are some amongst the lawyer community also who are doing these things,” he had said.

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