Home News Islamist “Fact-Checker” Mohammed Zubair Omits Madhya Pradesh High Court’s ‘Lord Shiva’ Remarks...

Islamist “Fact-Checker” Mohammed Zubair Omits Madhya Pradesh High Court’s ‘Lord Shiva’ Remarks In Cartoonist’s Bail Denial Report To Peddle Convenient Narrative

By
The Commune
-
mohammed zubair bail madhya pradesh high court

Alleged fact-checker Mohammed Zubair, a rabid Islamist known for promoting selective narratives and omitting key details, has once again come under fire for spreading a misleading account targeting the central government and the Madhya Pradesh High Court.

On 8 July 2025, Zubair shared a post on X claiming that the Madhya Pradesh High Court had denied anticipatory bail to cartoonist Hemant Malviya for creating a caricature deemed “undignified” towards the RSS and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

He wrote, “The Madhya Pradesh High Court denied anticipatory bail to cartoonist Hemant Malviya, who was booked for drawing an “undignified” caricature of RSS and PM Narendra Modi. MP Police had filed an FIR against Indore-based cartoonist Hemant Malviya in May following complaints from RSS worker & advocate Vijay Joshi.”

As usual, Zubair conveniently left out significant context, including the court’s explicit observations regarding derogatory remarks involving Lord Shiva.

The Madhya Pradesh High Court, in its detailed observation, expressed that at first glance, cartoonist Hemant Malviya’s actions specifically his depiction of the RSS and the Prime Minister alongside an offensive comment invoking Lord Shiva constituted a clear abuse of the right to freedom of speech guaranteed under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution. The court emphasized that the cartoon became particularly objectionable due to the inclusion of derogatory remarks involving Lord Shiva, which Malviya not only endorsed but also encouraged others to imitate.

The bench remarked that such actions could not be seen as made in good faith or artistic expression. Instead, the court found them to be deliberate and offensive attempts likely to provoke religious sentiments and disturb societal harmony. It concluded that this conduct fell within the scope of criminal offence, as alleged by the complainant.

Citing this reasoning, the court determined that Sections 41(1)(b)(i) and (ii) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) applied in this case. The court further noted that the protections offered under Section 41-A of the CrPC and Section 35 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, were not applicable to Malviya. It also ruled that the guidelines laid out in the Arnesh Kumar v. State of Bihar (2014) decision could not be invoked in his favor.

Malviya’s argument comparing his work to that of legendary cartoonist R.K. Laxman was dismissed by the court, which noted that no similar work by Laxman or any other renowned cartoonist had been presented as precedent. The court stated that Malviya had failed to exercise proper discretion in his depiction, had crossed the constitutional boundaries of free expression, and demonstrated a lack of awareness of those limits.

As a result, the High Court held that custodial interrogation was warranted and denied his anticipatory bail application.

Zubair’s post made no mention of this critical aspect, thereby misrepresenting the court’s rationale and once again reinforcing criticism that his reporting is more about narrative-building than objective fact-checking.

Netizens were quick to call out his misleading narrative, pointing out the full context and correcting the facts. Despite being shown what actually transpired, he chose to ignore the clarifications and kept his post unchanged, sticking to his one-sided version of events.

Subscribe to our channels on Telegram, WhatsApp, and Instagram and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR