PM Modi cartoon controversy: SC agrees to hear anticipatory bail plea on July 14

The Supreme Court will hear on July 14 the anticipatory bail plea of Indore-based cartoonist Hemant Malviya, who faces charges over a 2021 caricature of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the RSS. 

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear on July 14 an anticipatory bail application of Indore-based cartoonist Hemant Malviya for his objectionable caricatures of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). A bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Joymalya Bagchi posted the matter for hearing on July 14 after advocate Vrinda Grover mentioned the matter for early hearing.

She said, “This is about a cartoon I made back in 2021 during Covid. The offence is under BNS and has a maximum punishment of three years.” Madhya Pradesh High Court on July 3 had rejected his anticipatory bail plea. The High Court had said that Malviya had misused the freedom of speech and ought to have used his discretion while drawing the caricature in question.

His plea has clarified that he had published the original cartoon during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic when social media was rife with misinformation and fear related to the safety and efficacy of the vaccines. He said his cartoon is a satirical caricature work which offers social commentary on the comments made by a public figure regarding some vaccines being effective and "safe like water", even though their efficacy remains untested through rigorous clinical trials.

He further claimed that the caricature was the artist's imagination of a common man being vaccinated by a public representative and has been in public circulation on social media for over four years. It said that a social media user on May 1, 2025 had posted the cartoon with his comment stating "through implication that caste census is merely a tool to distract the public from issues like Waqf and Pahalgam".

The petitioner claimed that Malviya shared that post to demonstrate that his cartoons are freely available for public use and expression but he did not endorse the views expressed in the added commentary but acknowledged the use of his cartoon.