Bombay high court reserves order on Kunal Kamra’s plea, restrains police from arresting him | Latest News India

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court on Wednesday reserved its order on stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra’s plea to quash the first information report (FIR) registered against him for allegedly defaming Maharashtra deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde during a show in February this year. The court has restrained the police from arresting Kamra till the final order is pronounced.

According to the petition, Kamra uploaded a video of his stand-up special, ‘Naya Bharat’, recorded on February 2 at The Habitat studio in Khar, on YouTube on March 23. That same day, at 10.45pm, Shiv Sena MLA Murji Patel filed a complaint against him at Khar police station. Patel and other Sena workers accused Kamra of defaming Shinde through a parody song which referred to a “gaddar” (traitor) in state politics without naming anyone. Sena workers believe the song referred to Shinde’s rebellion against then chief minister and Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray in 2022, which led to a split in the Sena and the collapse of the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.

Senior advocate Navroz Seervai, representing Kamra, said the case fell within the “rarest of rare” category as the law machinery was used by persons who took umbrage with Kamra’s exercise of free speech, guaranteed under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution. He sought a complete stay on investigation in the case, saying such illegal and improper attempts at censorship had always been repelled by the apex court.

“This is an exact attempt by the state, at the behest of a political party, to make an example out of an artist, a stand-up comedian. This is a rarest of rare case which has to be nipped in the bud by staying the investigation,” Seervai said.

The advocate questioned the procedure and the alleged “mechanic nature” of police in targetting Kamra, saying, “75 years into our republic, we cannot be seen to be so shaky on our fundamentals that mere recital of a poem or for that matter, any form of art or entertainment, such as stand-up comedy, can be alleged to lead to animosity or hatred amongst different communities.”

Subscribing to such a view would stifle all legitimate expressions in the public domain, which is fundamental to a free society, the advocate stated.

Public prosecutor Hiten Venegaonkar opposed Kamra’s plea, saying artists and stand-up comedians must not target individuals and be open to criticism.

“When you are targeting one individual, it does not fall in the bracket of humorous criticism. It is malicious,” he said.

Having been in the stand-up comedy business for years, Kamra cannot be oblivious of the consequences of his words and the manner in which they were spoken, the public prosecutor said.

“He cannot use derogatory words and call it humour. Public figures have rights too. The FIR clearly demonstrates that the statement sought to lower the person’s dignity in the society,” he said.

Venegaonkar also responded to Kamra’s lawyer’s claim regarding him receiving over 500 death threats. On behalf of the government, he assured the court that Kamra would be protected when he came to Mumbai in response to the summons issued to him.

After hearing both sides, the division bench of justices Sarang Kotwal and Shriram Modak said that the summons issued to Kamra under section 35(3) of the Bhartiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) did not require the arrest of the individual.

Noting that Kamra’s interim protection is slated to end on April 17, the court, while addressing the state, said, “Your notice is for recording of statement. That should satisfy your purpose.”

The court then reserved its order, clarifying that Kamra would not be arrested till the order was pronounced.