The Supreme Court on Tuesday extended interim protection from arrest to Indore-based cartoonist Hemant Malviya, who faces criminal proceedings over objectionable caricatures of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
A bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and N V Anjaria directed Malviya to issue a public apology on Facebook, Instagram, and other social media platforms within 10 days. The court said the interim protection would remain in force until the next hearing.
Earlier, the top court asked Malviya to submit an affidavit in Hindi apologising for the caricature.
State Government’s Stand
Appearing for the Madhya Pradesh government, Additional Solicitor General K M Nataraj argued that Malviya’s post should not be deleted since the investigation was ongoing.
He said Malviya may publish an apology with a clear undertaking not to repeat such conduct and must extend full cooperation with the probe.
Case Background
Malviya is seeking anticipatory bail after the Madhya Pradesh High Court rejected his plea on July 3. The High Court held that he had misused the freedom of speech and failed to exercise discretion in creating the caricature.
The controversial artwork, according to Malviya’s plea, was originally published during the COVID-19 pandemic, when misinformation about vaccines was rampant on social media.
Petitioner’s Defence
Malviya has argued that his caricature was a piece of satirical commentary, portraying the imagination of a common man being vaccinated by a public representative. He said it reflected public concerns over comments that described some vaccines as “safe like water,” despite questions about efficacy and lack of clinical trials.
He further pointed out that the cartoon has been circulating on social media for over four years and resurfaced when a user shared it on May 1, 2025, adding a caption suggesting that caste census debates were a distraction from issues like Waqf and Pahalgam.
According to Malviya, he merely reshared the cartoon to demonstrate that his work was already in the public domain and freely used by others. He clarified that he did not endorse the political commentary added to the post.
The bench extended protection until the next date of hearing, with directions that Malviya publish his apology promptly. The court is expected to revisit his anticipatory bail plea after assessing compliance with its conditions.
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