PCI chairman defends cartoonist Trivedi; police agrees to give up his custody

PCI chairman defends cartoonist Trivedi; police agrees to give up his custodyJustice Markandey Katju, chairman of Press Council of India (PCI), has defended cartoonist Aseem Trivedi, saying he did nothing illegal.

Aseem Trivedi was arrested by Mumbai police on charges of sedation on Saturday. He was accused of displaying questionable caricatures of Parliament, the national emblem as well as the Constitution. On Sunday, he was produced before a holiday court, which sent him to police custody till 16th of September.

But, the arrest of the Kanpur-based cartoonist triggered a country-wide outrage and harsh criticism.

PCI chairman Katju strongly defended Trivedi and said, "My opinion is that the cartoonist did nothing illegal. In a democracy many things are said, some truthful and others false.”

Mr. Katju maintained that the act of arresting a cartoonist or any other person who hasn’t committed an offense is itself a crime under the IPC because it is a wrongful arrest and confinement.

Criminal lawyer Mahesh Jethmalani also supported Trivedi saying that he only expressed his viewpoints through his cartoons, and didn’t dishonour anything. The lawyer added that only people of low intellect failed to understand that.

Meanwhile, police has taken a U-turn and announced its decision to give up Trivedi’s custody. Police’s decision followed after Maharashtra Home Minister RR Patil’s comment that police had no grounds to arrest Trivedi.