The Supreme Court rebuked Indore-based cartoonist Hemant Malviya for an 'inflammatory' cartoon of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, which is the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's ideological mentor, with a link to Lord Shiva in the comments.
A bench headed by Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia expressed dismay over the 50-year-old cartoonist's "immaturity" and called his creation an "abuse of freedom of speech and expression". In a sharp observation Monday, the court asked for the cartoon to be deleted.
The court then posted the matter - Malviya's anticipatory bail plea - for futher hearing tomorrow, refusing, as it did, a plea for interim protection against arrest. The court told Advocate Vrinda Grover, appearing for Malviya, nothing would happen in a 24-hour period.
Earlier, Grover told court Malviya posted only the cartoon and that the comments - on a social media platform on which the image had been shared - had been added by another individual.
"It was from 2021 (during the Covid pandemic)... about some comments that some vaccines are 'safe as water'. There was a lot of confusion and misinformation then about vaccines."
She also pointed out no law-and-order problems had emerged because of the cartoon. "The cartoon made headlines someone else because things live on social media forever," she said.
The cartoonist had not, in the creation of the artwork or since, shown any malafide intentions, she argued, stressing Malviya is ready to delete the post and offer an apology.
Meanwhile, Justice Dhulia asked Additional Solicitor-General KM Nataraj, appearing for the State, if an apology would suffice. "They are saying it is offensive but not an offence..."
To this the ASG responded that if it the cartoon had been admitted to be 'offensive' then it had to be an offence. "This is causing social disharmony and a breakdown of law-and-order... all over the country such things are happening and they are 'triggering'," he said.
Malviya approached the Supreme Court after the Madhya Pradesh High Court refused anticipatory bail. This was after police filed a case for posting 'objectionable content'.
Dismissing the anticipatory bail plea, Justice Subodh Abhyankar had said, "The applicant ought to have used his discretion while drawing the aforesaid caricature... he clearly overstepped the threshold of freedom of speech and expression and doesn't appear to know his limits."
Malviya faces charges of promoting communal disharmony, outraging religious feelings, provoking breach of peace, and others under the Information Technology Act. The offences are punishable by jail terms of between three and five years.
