On Tuesday, the Supreme Court provided protection to a cartoonist accused of disseminating purportedly objectionable cartoons of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and RSS members on social media.

A panel consisting of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Aravind Kumar stated that if the cartoonist were to post any further offensive content on social media, the state would be permitted to take legal action against him.

The Supreme Court expressed its displeasure regarding the alleged abusive online content, remarking, “People say anything to anyone.”

The Supreme Court addressed the misuse of freedom of speech concerning objectionable cartoons of the Prime Minister and RSS:  Hemant Malviya contested a Madhya Pradesh High Court ruling from July 3 that denied him anticipatory bail.

He was charged by the Lasudiya police station in Indore in May following a complaint from lawyer and RSS member Vinay Joshi.

Joshi claimed that Malviya had offended the religious sentiments of Hindus and disrupted communal harmony by posting objectionable content on social media.

In his pursuit of anticipatory bail, cartoonist Malviya approached the Supreme Court regarding the caricature of PM Modi and RSS.

The FIR listed several “objectionable” posts, which included allegedly inappropriate remarks about Lord Shiva, as well as cartoons, videos, photographs, and comments related to Modi, RSS members, and others.