Bombay HC Issues Notice To Maharashtra Govt, Shiv Sena MLA Murji Patel On Kunal Kamra's Plea To Quash FIRs Over Political Remarks
Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Tuesday issued notice to the State government and complainant Shiv Sena MLA Murji Patel on a petition filed by standup comedian Kunal Kamra seeking quashing of FIRs registered against him by the Mumbai Police over alleged remarks insulting Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
Observation Made By The Bench
A bench of Justices Sarang Kotwal and SM Modak said it would hear Kamra’s petition on April 16. “Issue notice to the respondents (police and Patel). They shall take instructions and respond to the plea,” the bench said.
Patel had filed the first FIR on March 24 at the Khar police station over comments Kamra made during his ‘Naya Bharat’ show at Habitat Studio, Unicontinental Hotel, Khar. He allegedly made remarks about prominent politicians, industrialists, and central agencies.
On Tuesday, Kamra’s counsel, Navroz Seervai, informed the bench that the Madras High Court on Monday extended till April 17 the earlier interim transit anticipatory bail granted to the comedian.
Seervai said that thrice, Kamra offered in writing to the police to allow him to appear for questioning via video conference in light of the dangers and threat to his life. “It seems that the police authorities are not so keen on recording his statement but more on bringing him here physically,” Seervai added.
In his plea, Kamra said that he has been residing in Tamil Nadu since 2021, hence he sought relief from the Madras HC.
Seervai submitted: “This is not a case of murder. It is an FIR that has stemmed from a stand-up comedy show. He (Kamra) is ready to cooperate with the probe but through video conference.”
The bench said it would consider all issues on April 16.
Kunal Kamra's Plea
In his plea, Kamra said that the continuation of the case would be a frontal attack on a “citizen's constitutional right to freedom of speech and expression”. It asked whether a person's right to comment on political developments and actions of leaders could be criminalised in this manner.
Kamra has said that his remarks regarding the split in the Shiv Sena, Shinde quitting Uddhav Thackeray's Sena faction and being sworn in as the chief minister at the time (in 2022) are all part of records.
Kamra claimed 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. He sought for the FIR to be quashed claiming the allegations, even if taken at face value, do not constitute an offence.
His plea claims that the script for the show was written in July 2024; and performed on 60 occasions between August last year and February 2025. However, a recording of the show was uploaded only in March 2025, pursuant to which case was lodged, it said.
A zero FIR was initially registered at MIDC police station the same day and later transferred to Khar police station. The complaint was filed by Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) MLA Murji Patel, who represents the Andheri East Assembly constituency. Three more FIRs were filed on March 28 under the same provisions. Additional cases were registered in Thane and Dombivli.
On April 5, an online ticketing platform delisted Kamra and removed all content related to him amid backlash over his remarks.
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