The Supreme Court on Tuesday came down heavily on cartoonist Hemant Malviya for sharing alleged objectionable social media content related to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the RSS, but granted him interim protection from arrest.

A bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Aravind Kumar, however, said if Malviya continued to share offensive posts, the Madhya Pradesh government was free to take action against him.

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Speaking in Hindi, Justice Dhulia rebuked Malviya over the posts, saying, “Hadd hai! Log kisi ko bhi, kuch bhi keh dete hain (This is too much. These days, people write anything, say anything, without caring about the language)”.

The court also hinted at passing orders on ways to deal with abusive social media posts in the next hearing on the matter after August 15.

“Whatever we may do with this case, but this is definitely the case that the freedom of speech and expression is being abused,” the court said.

A case was registered against Malviya over derogatory cartoons targeting Prime Minister Modi and RSS volunteers. While the posts were made in 2021, they were shared again by some social media users recently.

The cartoonist approached the top court after the Madhya Pradesh High Court refused to grant him anticipatory bail on July 3.

‘PEOPLE SAY ANYTHING ON SOCIAL MEDIA’

Advocate Vrinda Grover, representing Malviya, said having a critical mindset doesn’t constitute an offence.

“My cartoon was published in 2020. The FIR is not about my original cartoon. It is about the post made by someone else who took my cartoon and added religious text to it. Yet the state’s wrath has fallen upon me (Malviya),” Grover said.

Grover also emphasised that Malviya was ready to take down the post.

Additional Solicitor General KM Nataraj said everyone had the right to express their opinions, but not in a way that amounts to a criminal act.

The Supreme Court said there should be control over the language one uses while posting online.

“All sorts of posts are being created. The language used in shows and online… Should anyone be allowed to say anything? These days, people say anything on social media just to become heroes,” the court said.

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