Supreme Court Grants Anticipatory Bail to Cartoonist Hemant Malviya

New Delhi, Sep 2 (PTI): The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted anticipatory bail to cartoonist Hemant Malviya, who faced allegations of sharing objectionable cartoons of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and RSS workers on social media.

The court, comprising Justices Aravind Kumar and N V Anjaria, took into account Malviya's apologies posted on his Facebook and Instagram profiles. They allowed the police the option to request the cancellation of his bail should Malviya not cooperate with the investigation.

During the hearing, Malviya's lawyer, Vrinda Grover, informed the bench that Malviya had apologized and had not yet received a summons.

Additional Solicitor General K M Nataraj responded that the summoning would occur only after the accumulation of all relevant evidence.

In May, police in Indore filed a case against Malviya after lawyer and RSS worker Vinay Joshi lodged a complaint, claiming that Malviya's posts hurt the religious sentiments of Hindus and disturbed communal harmony.

On July 15, Justices Kumar and Sudhanshu Dhulia had extended Malviya protection from coercive action, which was made "absolute" on Tuesday.

The court earlier reviewed an affidavit from Malviya expressing his sincere regret and heartfelt apology. The bench hoped this sentiment was genuine and not merely superficial.

Nataraj emphasized that the investigation was ongoing, and testimonies, like Malviya’s post, might still be pertinent. Therefore, any deletion of content was inadvisable at this stage.

The Supreme Court also noted the worrying rise in objectionable social media posts and highlighted the need for judicial measures to curb this issue.

Malviya challenged a Madhya Pradesh High Court decision from July 3, which had denied him anticipatory bail.

The FIR filed against him mentioned several contentious posts, including disparaging remarks about Lord Shiva, and various cartoons, videos, photographs, and comments related to Modi, RSS workers, and others, suggesting intent to insult religious sentiments and harm the RSS's reputation.

Before the high court, Malviya's counsel argued that he merely uploaded a cartoon and couldn't be accountable for others' comments on it. The police invoked sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Information Technology Act against him, including acts prejudicial to communal harmony and transmission of explicit material.