The Supreme Court on Tuesday disposed of a petition filed by cartoonist Hemant Malviya, who faced criminal proceedings for allegedly posting a caricature depicting the Rashtriya Swayam Sewak Sangh (RSS) and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in an undignified manner. A Bench of Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice N.V. Anjaria recorded that Malviya had complied with the earlier direction to publish an apology on his Facebook and Instagram accounts.
Noting there was no reason to doubt the petitioner’s statement of compliance, the Court held that the interim protection already granted to Malviya would stand confirmed as permanent. It clarified, however, that the State would be at liberty to seek cancellation of bail if Malviya failed to cooperate with the ongoing investigation. With these observations, the petition was disposed of.