Cartoonist Hemant Malviya, accused of sharing alleged objectionable cartoons of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and RSS workers, told the Supreme Court on Tuesday, August 19, he will issue an apology on Facebook, Instagram and other social media platforms.
The Supreme Court directed Malviya to publish the apology within ten days and extended the interim protection against his arrest.
In 2021, during the second deadly COVID-19 wave, he had posted a cartoon depicting a man in the RSS uniform with his shorts pulled down, and Prime Minister Modi administering an injection. The post also carried remarks allegedly involving Lord Shiva.
In May, Malviya was booked by Indore police on a complaint filed by lawyer and RSS worker Vinay Joshi, who alleged that the former hurt the religious sentiments of Hindus.
The Madhya Pradesh High Court refused to grant him anticipatory bail, following which, the cartoonist moved the Supreme Court. In July, a bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Aravind Kumar agreed to grant him interim protection from arrest but cautioned Malviya with action if he continued to share offensive posts on social media.
“Log kisi ko bhi, kuch bhi keh dete hain (People say anything to anyone)’,” the bench had remarked.
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