Kunal Kamra row: Stand-up comedian moves Bombay HC to quash FIR against him over ‘traitor’ jibe at Eknath Shinde

Stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra has moved a plea in the Bombay High Court, seeking to quash FIRs registered against him for allegedly calling Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde “traitor”. The move comes as the period of transit anticipatory bail granted to Kamra by the Tamil High Court ends on Monday.

 

Kamra reportedly moved the plea in the Bombay High Court on Saturday and the court is likely to take up the matter for hearing later this month. The stand-up comedian has skipped all three summons issued to him by Mumbai police in connection with the probe.

 

In his plea, Kamra argued that the complaints against him were violative of his fundamental rights of freedom of speech and expression, right to practice any profession and business and right to life and liberty guaranteed under the Constitution of India. Mumbai Khar police is investigating the case based on a complaint from Shiv Sena MLA  Murji Patel. Cases were also registered in Nashik Rural, Jalgaon and Nashik (Nandgaon) police stations and they were transferred to Khar police for further probe.

 

During the recent performance in Mumbai, Kamra performed a parody version of a Hindi song from the film "Dil Toh Pagal Hai," and allegedly referred to Shinde as a "gaddar" (traitor). However, Kamra did not name Shinde in the show. Kamra also performed jokes about recent political developments in Maharashtra. His performance angered the Maharashtra government and leaders including Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis condemned the act.

 

Kamra had said he would not apologise for his performance and claimed he said exactly what “Ajit Pawar (1st deputy CM) said about Eknath Shinde (2nd Deputy CM)". Meanwhile, ticket booking app BookMyShow has reportedly removed Kamra’s profile and delisted his upcoming shows.

India