The Supreme Court will hear on July 14, the anticipatory bail petition of Indore-based cartoonist Hemant Malviya, accused of portraying Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in an undignified manner.
Advocate Vrinda Grover mentioned the matter before the Bench of Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia and Justice Joymalya Bagchi, which agreed to list it on July 14, when the Apex Court would reopen after the summer vacation.
Malviya was booked in May 2025 over a caricature,which was deemed to be objectionable by an RSS member. As per the complaint, Malviya showed the parties in an undignified manner, allegedly hurting the religious sentiment of the complainant. The cartoon was stated to be published on Malviya’s Facebook page.
In the cartoon, a man wearing the RSS uniform was shown bending over with his shorts pulled down and exposing his bottom to the caricature of the Prime Minister. Modi was shown with a stethoscope around his neck, holding an injection in his hand and administering it to the person bending over.
Earlier on July 3, the Madhya Pradesh High Court refused to grant anticipatory bail to Malviya.
The single-judge Bench of Justice Subodh Abhyankar observed that Malviya’s conduct in depicting the RSS, a Hindu organisation along with the PM in the caricature, coupled with his endorsement of a rather demeaning remark dragging unnecessarily the name of lord Shiva in the comments tagged to it, was nothing but sheer misuse of the freedom of speech and expression, as enshrined under Art.19(1)(a) of the Constitution.
Noting that the act fell under the definition of offence as contended by the complainant, the High Court said the custodial interrogation of the applicant would be necessary.
The single-judge Bench noted that the applicant’s Facebook page showed RSS in a human form with its Khaki shorts with a black belt and white shirt, which was the uniform of RSS.
This man was bending over with his shorts pulled down and exposing his bottom to the caricature of the Prime Minister, who was shown with a stethoscope around his neck. The PM was also shown holding an injection in his hand, which he was administering on the bottom of the person bending over (RSS).
The post became more unsettling when the aforesaid derogatory lines involving Lord Shiva were also added to it. The lines have been favourably endorsed by the applicant himself who was also encouraging other people to experiment with the said caricature, which certainly could not be said to be made in good taste or faith.
The applicant’s deliberate and malicious act was intended to outrage religious feelings of the complainant and the public at large by insulting its religion, which was prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony in the society, noted the single-judge Bench.