The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear on July 14 the anticipatory bail plea of Indore-based cartoonist Hemant Malviya, who is facing legal action over a controversial caricature featuring Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
A bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Joymalya Bagchi scheduled the hearing after advocate Vrinda Grover urgently mentioned the matter, seeking early consideration.
“This is about a cartoon I made back in 2021 during COVID. The offence is under BNS and has a maximum punishment of 3 years,” Grover told the court, referencing the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), India’s new criminal code.
High Court Rejection Of Bail
Earlier on July 3, the Madhya Pradesh High Court had denied Malviya’s anticipatory bail request. In its order, the court observed that the cartoonist had “misused the freedom of speech” and should have exercised greater discretion when drawing the caricature in question.
In his plea, Malviya clarified that the caricature in question was originally published in 2021, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, when misinformation and fear about vaccine efficacy were widespread.
According to the petition, the cartoon was intended as a “satirical work of social commentary”, targeting public statements made by prominent figures who had described the vaccines as “safe like water” despite the lack of robust clinical trials at that time.
Malviya asserted that the artwork was a representation of public concern and an artist’s impression of the common man’s confusion during a public vaccination campaign. The cartoon has reportedly been available on social media for over four years, without incident until recently.
Controversy Over Social Media Post
The fresh legal trouble for Malviya began after a social media user posted the cartoon on May 1, 2025, alongside a comment that implied the caste census was being used as a political distraction from other issues such as the Waqf Board and Pahalgam.
The petitioner clarified that while Malviya’s cartoon was included in that post, he had only reshared it to demonstrate that his work was in public circulation and freely available for commentary or critique. He explicitly stated that he did not endorse the user’s added commentary but acknowledged the usage of his artwork.
Legal Stand & Artistic Freedom
The cartoonist has argued that the complaint against him is a misuse of criminal law to target satirical expression and that his work falls well within the bounds of free speech and artistic freedom guaranteed by the Constitution.
His legal team is expected to argue that satire and political cartoons are protected forms of dissent, especially when dealing with public figures and national issues.
The court will now hear the matter on Sunday, July 14, where it will decide whether to grant Malviya protection from arrest as he faces charges under the BNS with a potential sentence of up to three years.
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