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The Bombay High Court has granted bail to cartoonist Aseem Trivedi on a personal bond of Rs 5000. Trivedi is facing sedition charges under Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code, along with other offences under the Information Technology Act. Though Trivedi had earlier said he will not be applying for bail, on Tuesday he said he will come put of jail and fight the sedition law. Earlier on Saturday, Mumbai Police arrested him for allegedly sketching obscene cartoons of the national emblem. He was sent to seven days police custody by a magistrate on Sunday. He was produced again before a court that sent him to judicial custody till Sep 24. Earlier in the day, India Against Corruption (IAC) member activist Arvind Kejriwal met Trivedi in prison and said that he would begin a protest starting Saturday if all sedition-related charges levelled against Trivedi are not dropped. Kejriwal described Trivedi as a patriot who has been fighting against corruption for the last one year. Trivedi, who was arrested by the Mumbai Police on Saturday for allegedly posting seditious and obscene content on his website which has now been blocked, has been sent to judicial custody till September 24. He was also charged under the IT Act and the 1971 National Emblem Act. The cartoonist's supporters, however, allege that his arrest is politically motivated and that he is being punished for backing Anna Hazare's anti-corruption campaign. The cartoons by Trivedi reportedly depicted Parliament as a commode and showed the national emblem with wolves instead of lions. The police claimed that Trivedi had earlier exhibited similar cartoons at a rally organised by India Against Corruption (IAC) at the MMRDA grounds in Mumbai in December 2011.

Bombay HC grants bail to cartoonist Trivedi