New Delhi: The Supreme Court, on Monday, came down heavily on Indore-based cartoonist Hemant Malviya and refused to grant him interim protection from arrest for creating and publishing an objectionable caricature of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the RSS in 2021.
“Freedom of Speech” is being abused by some cartoonists and stand-up comedians, the Court noted and pointed to Malviya’s lack of maturity.
The bench of Justice Sandeep Mehta and Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia also termed his conduct “inflammatory” and “immature”.
When asked how old Malviya is, his counsel senior advocate Vrinda Grover said: “He is over 50. The post did not amount to an offence and it is about personal liberty,” she submitted, urging the court to protect him from arrest.
The court, however, lashed out at the cartoonist and observed: “Still no maturity in him. It is indeed inflammatory.”
Grover then argued that the post in question has already been deleted but the Court was not satisfied. It granted Malviya till Tuesday to tender an apology for the cartoon.
The cartoon, published on January 6, 2021, was described in the petition as a satirical comment on a public figure’s statement that some vaccines were “safe like water” despite lack of rigorous clinical testing. The image, according to the petition, showed a common man being vaccinated by a public representative and had been in circulation on social media for over four years.
In reality, the cartoon showed a man with a RSS-like Khaki short, pulled down to reveal his backside, with someone resembling Modi getting ready to apply a jab there. The caption also had an objectionable mention of Lord Shiva.
The plea says that an unknown person reposted the cartoon in May 2025 with added commentary, and Malviya shared it only to show that his work was publicly available.
Following this, an FIR was registered on May 21, 2025, under Sections 196, 299, 302, 352, and 353(2) of the BNSS and Section 67A of the Information Technology Act, 2000. The complaint, filed by a person claiming to be a member of the RSS and Hindu community, alleged that the cartoon insulted the RSS, incited violence, and hurt religious sentiments.
Malviya’s anticipatory bail plea was first dismissed by the Additional Sessions Judge, Indore, on May 24, 2025. He then approached the Madhya Pradesh High Court, which rejected the application on July 3.
