New Delhi ( CNN ) -- An Indian cartoonist charged with sedition over images critical of the government has been released on bail , his lawyer said Wednesday . Aseem Trivedi had originally refused to seek bail and wanted the charges dropped , but changed his mind after receiving assurances from authorities that they would be reviewed , Vijay Hiremath said . In comments after his release , televised from outside the jailhouse , the satirist vowed to continue his campaign against the country 's colonial-era law on sedition . `` This fight will continue until 124A is repealed , '' he said , holding a microphone . Arrest of 'toilet ' cartoonist triggers free speech debate in India . He was referring to section 124A of the Indian Penal Code , which was introduced by the British colonial government in 1860 . The law prohibits `` words either spoken or written , or by signs or visible representation '' that attempts to cause `` hatred or contempt , or excites or attempts to excite disaffection , '' toward the government . Trivedi then thanked his supporters for rallying around him after his arrest triggered a debate over free speech in the world 's largest democracy . The case against the cartoonist hinges on a complaint about drawings published during anti-corruption protests last year . Trivedi 's cartoons attacked perceived corruption in India 's political system , with one of them depicting three lions in India 's national emblem as wolves and another showing parliament as a toilet , Hiremath said . But Trivedi insisted his cartoons were in fact inspired by patriotism . `` I did n't commit crime , '' he told reporters . `` The government has to answer why I was charged with sedition . '' But a Mumbai court granted Trivedi bail after someone else filed a public-interest petition seeking his release , Hiremath said . The cartoonist is also facing a charge of insulting national honor and authorities have blocked his website , which carried the cartoons , Hiremath added . If convicted , he could be jailed for life -- a situation that has incensed many in India . `` These charges are nonsense . They are stupid . They are just ( there ) because of the intolerance of some people . They should be dismissed as frivolous , '' said Markandey Katju , the chief of the Press Council of India . Human Rights Watch has urged Indian authorities to immediately drop the charges and repeal the sedition law , which it alleged was being used to `` silence peaceful dissent . '' In 1962 , India 's Supreme Court ruled that the section 124A was constitutionally valid , but said that its application should be limited to acts `` involving intention or tendency to create disorder , or disturbance of law and order , or incitement to violence . '' `` Indian authorities have unlawfully charged individuals with sedition on repeated occasions for peaceful political purposes contrary to explicit directives of the Supreme Court , '' said Meenakshi Ganguly of HRW . `` The obvious abuse of the sedition law to silence Trivedi should be the case that prompts the abolition of this law . '' In its editorial Tuesday , one of India 's most respected dailies , The Hindu , also criticized the law . `` The latest victim of this anachronistic colonial-era law , for which the maximum punishment is life imprisonment , is a young cartoonist , arrested for no more than lampooning the corrupt and venal state of affairs in the country , '' it said . `` ... the sedition clause not only remains on the statute book but is used periodically against human rights activists , journalists and intellectuals . '' TIME : Salman Rushdie and freedom of expression of India .
NEW : Indian cartoonist Aseem Trivedi leaves jail on bail . Trivedi had originally refused to apply for bail , wanted sedition charge dropped . Cartoons attacked perceived corruption in India 's political system . HRW urged authorities to drop the charges and repeal the law .