MUMBAI: Standup comedian Kunal Kamra, 36, has moved Madras High court for transit anticipatory bail. He seeks protection against an arrest that he apprehends, in the FIR against him for his remarks allegedly about Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, on his show.
Kamra’s counsel V Suresh mentioned the petition for an urgent hearing before Justice Sundar Mohan. The court has kept it for hearing at the end of the board.
He filed the petition via the e-filing system before the HC very late Thursday night.
Kamr’s contention is that he “ innocent of the offences levelled against him and that he has been falsely implicated in the case’’ through a “frivolous complaint’’ filed by the complainant to “harass and intimidate’’ and “censor an artist’’ for “merely exercising his fundamental right to freedom of speech’’.
Shinde had told the media earlier, “Freedom of speech is there. We understand satire. But there should be a limit. This is like taking ‘supari’ (contract) to speak against someone.”
Kamra seeks “inter-state anticipatory bail in the event of his arrest’’ for few weeks as he resides in Tamil Nadu since Feb 2021 and there are several public holiday next month.
Kamra’s plea also says he has received threats to harm his life and of his loved ones hence he is “ scared for his life and liberty if he goes to Mumbai on March 31.’’
Khar police station in Mumbai had called Kamra to appear before it on March 25. Kamra sought a week’s time to appear for the investigation, police sources had said earlier.
The FIR alleges he performed a parody of a popular Hindi song from the 1997 film “Dil Toh Pagal Hai,” making allegedly disparaging remarks about Shinde and the 2022 split in the Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in 2023. The FIR does not make out the alleged offence of ‘public mischief and defamation’, his petition contends.
His pre-arrest transit bail plea says his show was performed in February and uploaded on social media. It added that on March 23, Shiv Sena members vandalised the alleged venue of the show and that night a FIR was lodged against him, for allegedly making “slanderous statements’’ against Shinde and “fosterd animosity between rival political parties.’’
Kamra says the disputed song he narrated “does not name anyone’’.
Kamra says he was born in Mumbai but moved to rural Tamil Nadu in Feb 2021 to lead a “quiet life’’. He was touring with his latest show titled ‘Naya Bharat’ over he past year across India. “The program reflects his signature satirical style of sharp observational humour and politically charged satire, touching on themes that resonate with contemporary India,’’ says the plea.
He has relied on the Supreme Court ruling in the Priya Indoria case from Karnataka to seek trasit relief and says he is not a flight risk, but will cooperate with the police investigation.
“The Apex Court had noted that the legislative intent behind anticipatory bail is to prevent the humiliation of the persons who apprehend arrest in politically motivated or malicious prosecutions,’’ the petition says in the grounds for relief adding, ‘The FIR reflects that the complaint was politically motivated, and the vandalism that happened, pursuant to the video upload, by certain politically affiliated persons furthers the malicious nature of the complaint, which publicly humiliates the Petitioner.’’