THE JHARKHAND STORY DESK
New Delhi, Sept 2: The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted anticipatory bail to Indore-based cartoonist Hemant Malviya, who had been booked for circulating objectionable caricatures of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) on social media during the Covid-19 pandemic.
A bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and N.V. Anjaria disposed of the case after being informed that Malviya had already issued a public apology through his Facebook and Instagram accounts.
Also Read- Jharkhand Govt offices to stay closed for 5 days
The court recorded the statement and said it had no reason to doubt its authenticity, while making it clear that authorities could still seek cancellation of bail if Malviya failed to cooperate with the investigation.
Malviya’s bail plea had earlier been rejected by the Madhya Pradesh High Court, which observed that he had misused the freedom of speech and should have exercised restraint.
In his defense before the apex court, Malviya maintained that the cartoon was a piece of satire reflecting public commentary at a time when vaccine safety was widely debated, and that it had been in circulation on social media for years.
Also Read- ‘JJMP has one option left, it’s surrender’: Latehar SP Kumar Gaurav
He further claimed he shared the caricature not to endorse the accompanying remarks but to show how his work had been used in the public domain.
The Supreme Court had earlier granted interim protection to Malviya and asked him to issue an apology in Hindi within 10 days, a direction he has since complied with.
