The Madhya Pradesh High Court dismissed a petition filed under Section 482 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023 (corresponding to Section 438 CrPC), seeking anticipatory bail in a case registered under Sections 196, 299, 302, 352, and 353(3) of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS), 2023, and Section 67-A of the IT Act, 2000.
The FIR was registered following a caricature posted by the accused, depicting the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a highly derogatory manner. The complainant, a member of the RSS, alleged that the caricature along with accompanying commentary referencing Lord Shiva offended his religious sentiments and amounted to a deliberate insult to Hindu beliefs.
The Court took a stern view of the satirical post, which portrayed the RSS in its traditional uniform in a humiliating posture, with the Prime Minister administering an injection, accompanied by controversial text invoking Lord Shiva. The Court held that the accused had not only drawn and shared the caricature but had also endorsed and encouraged further circulation by commenting favourably on similar responses from others.
Rejecting the accused’s reliance on Arnesh Kumar v. State of Bihar, (2014) 8 SCC 273 and Mammen Varghese and Imran Pratapgadi, 2024/KER/57138, the Court distinguished those cases as factually inapplicable especially since those involved non-religious content or third-party authorship.
The Court observed that the accused had crossed the limits of permissible free speech under Article 19(1)(a) and found the post to be prima facie malicious and intended to outrage religious feelings. The Court also noted that the protection under Section 41A of CrPC or Section 35 of BNSS and the guidelines laid down in Arnesh Kumar would not apply due to the gravity and impact of the alleged offence.
In conclusion, the Court found custodial interrogation to be warranted and dismissed the anticipatory bail application.
Appearance:
Shri Rishabh Gupta – Advocate for the applicant.
Shri Amit Raval – G.A. appearing on behalf of Advocate General.
Shri Govind Rai Purohit – Advocate for the objector.
