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The Supreme Court on Tuesday gave anticipatory bail to cartoonist Hemant Malviya who is accused of sharing allegedly objectionable cartoons of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and RSS workers on social media. Noting that he has apologised on his Facebook and Instagram accounts, a bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and N V Anjaria gave the police liberty to seek cancellation of his bail in case the cartoonist did not cooperate in the probe. During the hearing, Malviya's counsel Vrinda Grover informed the court that an apology was given and that the petitioner had not yet been summoned. Additional Solicitor General K M Nataraj replied that summoning will take place only after all the evidence is gathered. Malviya was booked by police in Indore in May on a complaint filed by lawyer and RSS worker Vinay Joshi who alleged that he had hurt the religious sentiments of Hindus and disturbed communal harmony by uploading objectionable material on social media. On July 15, a top court bench of Just
The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted protection to cartoonist accused of sharing alleged objectionable cartoons of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and RSS workers on social media. A bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Aravind Kumar said if he shared any more offensive posts on social media, the state was free to take action against him under law. The top court was miffed over the alleged abusive online posts and said, "Log kisi ko bhi, kuch bhi keh dete hain (People say anything to anyone)'." Hemant Malviya challenged in the apex court a Madhya Pradesh High Court order passed on July 3 refusing to grant him anticipatory bail. He was booked by Lasudiya police station in Indore in May on a complaint filed by lawyer and RSS worker Vinay Joshi. Malviya hurt religious sentiments of Hindus and disturbed communal harmony by uploading objectionable material on social media, Joshi alleged. The FIR mentioned various "objectionable" posts, including allegedly inappropriate comments on Lord
The Supreme Court on Monday said the right of freedom of speech and expression was being "abused" while hearing the plea of a cartoonist accused of sharing alleged objectionable cartoons of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and RSS workers on social media. "Why do you do all this?" a bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Aravind Kumar asked the counsel of cartoonist Hemant Malviya, who sought anticipatory bail in the matter. Advocate Vrinda Grover, representing Malviya, said the matter was over a cartoon made in 2021 during the Covid-19 pandemic. "It may be unpalatable. Let me say it is in poor taste. Let me go to that extent. But is it an offence? My lords have said, it can be offensive but it is not an offence. I am simply on law. I am not trying to justify anything," she said. Grover agreed to delete the post made by Malviya. "Whatever we may do with this case, but this is definitely the case that the freedom of speech and expression is being abused," Justice Dhulia ...
The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear the anticipatory bail plea of Indore-based cartoonist accused of uploading "objectionable" cartoons of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and RSS workers on social media. A bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Joymalya Bagchi agreed to hear on July 14, the plea filed by Hemant Malviya challenging the Madhya Pradesh High Court order refusing to grant him relief after advocate Vrinda Grover sought urgent hearing in the matter. The high court had observed that it was gross misuse of freedom of speech. Grover submitted the matter pertains to a cartoon which Malviya made in 2021 during Covid and the high court said no landmark cases like in Arnesh Kumar and Imran Pratapgarhi, which dealt with life and liberty, will be followed. She submitted that the high court has condemned the cartoonist, "The offence is under which BNS which entails a maximum of three years of punishment," Grover submitted. Justice Dhulia ordered that the matter will be listed
Turkish police on Monday detained a cartoonist over a caricature depicting the Prophet Muhammad, an act that also sparked an angry protest outside the Istanbul office of his satirical magazine, officials and reports said. Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced on X that Leman magazine's cartoonist was taken under custody for questioning. The minister also shared a video of the cartoonist identified only by his initials DP being taken into custody on a stairwell, with hands cuffed behind the back. Earlier, the country's justice minister said an investigation was launched into the magazine, citing possible charges of publicly insulting religious values". A group of youths, reportedly belonging to an Islamist group, hurled stones at Leman's headquarters after it published a cartoon depicting Prophet Muhammad and Prophet Moses exchanging greetings in mid-air as missiles rain down from the sky. Yilmaz Tunc, the justice minister, said that cartoons or drawings depicting the Prophet
The Madras High Court has directed Ananda Vikatan Productions Private Limited to remove the caricature depicting Prime Minister Narendra Modi shackled in chains during a meeting with United States President Donald Trump and inform the same to the union government. On receipt of the information, the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting shall unblock the Ananda Vikatan website, said Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy. The judge passed the interim order on Thursday on a petition filed by Ananda Vikatan Productions Private Limited and Ananda Vikatan Publishers Private Limited, challenging an order of the I&B Ministry, dated February 25, 2025, blocking the website and sought a consequential direction to the Ministry to restore public access to the website. When the case came up for hearing, senior counsel Vijay Narayan, appearing for Ananda Vikatan submitted that the caricature depicting the leaders will not affect the integrity and sovereignty of India. It was freedom of ...
Citing the popularity of Indian animated series such as 'Chhota Bheem', 'Hanuman' and 'Motu-Patlu', Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said India is on the way to ushering in a new revolution in the world of animation and urged the people to take the resolve of making the country a global animation powerhouse. In his monthly Mann Ki Baat radio broadcast, he said India's animation characters and movies, on account of content and creativity, are being loved all over the world. "You must remember the days when 'Chhota Bheem' started airing on TV.Children can never forget that; there was so much excitement about 'Chhota Bheem'! You would be surprised that today 'Dholakpur ka Dhol' attracts children not only in India but also in other countries. Similarly, our other animated serials such as 'Krishna', 'Hanuman', 'Motu-Patlu' also have a fan-following all over the world," the prime minister said. "You might have noticed that from the smartphone to the cinema screen, gaming console to