MP High Court Denies Relief to Cartoonist Over ‘Derogatory’ Caricature Depicting Modi, RSS
New Delhi: The Madhya Pradesh high court while denying anticipatory bail to cartoonist Hemant Malviya said that his caricature of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) “clearly overstepped the threshold of freedom of speech and expression”.
The cartoon, posted on Malviya’s facebook page, allegedly depicts a person wearing the RSS uniform – khaki shorts, a white shirt and a belt – bending over with his shorts pulled down. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seen standing next to the man with a stethoscope and an injection, which he is administering to the person.
Malviya was booked over the post in May this year after a complaint lodged by an RSS member, Bar and Bench reported.
The complaint against Malviya said that his cartoon showed Modi and the RSS in an undignified manner and hurt the religious sentiments of the complainant.
Justice Subodh Abhyankar while denying relief to Malviya said that “the custodial interrogation of the applicant would be necessary".
“[The cartoon] is nothing but the sheer misuse of the freedom of speech and expression as enshrined under Art.19(1)(a) of the Constitution, and falls under the definition of offence as contended by the complainant,” Justice Abhyankar added.
On the cartoon, the court noted, “It is apparent that the applicant's aforesaid act is deliberate and malicious intended to outrage religious feelings of the complainant and the public at large by insulting its religion, which is prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony in the society.”
The court also said that the caricature becomes even more derogatory due to Malviya's endorsement of remarks related to Lord Shiva in the comments of that post.
Referring to the Supreme Court’s Arnesh Kumar guidelines, the court said that Malviya had clearly demonstrated his propensity to commit the said offence and thus the benefit of the guidelines – which advice against arbitrary arrest – will not be available to him, the report said.
Malviya’s counsel, Rishabh Gupta, referred to the work of noted cartoonist R.K.Laxman while offering his defence. However, the court noted that Laxman’s caricatures could not be compared with Malviya’s work.
Gupta argued that Malviya’s cartoon was satirical in nature and was only published on his Facebook page.
Advocate Amit Raval, appearing for the government, said that Malviya cannot be allowed to draw such caricatures in the name of freedom of speech and expression.
Raval further pointed out Malviya's past work and said that he routinely makes such caricatures which “disturb the harmony of society”.
This article went live on July eighth, two thousand twenty five, at thirty-two minutes past two in the afternoon.The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.
