Kunal Kamra Case is about Limitations and Restrictions on Freedoms

 

By Sushil Kutty

Stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra is in the Bombay High Court with a petition to quash the Mumbai Police FIR against him for making the ‘traitor’ jibe against Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, whose keen ears prick up in a micro-millisecond if the word happens to be ‘gaddar’. Kamra’s petition concerns the right to freedom of expression and speech as also on limitations placed on this right.

Kamra forgot this. Shinde made headlines during the run-up to the Maharashtra assembly elections when he halted his cavalcade on a Mumbai thoroughfare when somebody from a well-lit shopfront shouted ‘gaddar’. The next moment, the Shinde Sena head was striding into the enclosure but the ‘gaddar-caller’ couldn’t be identified because of his sheer ordinariness.

Kunal Kamra isn’t ordinary. Kamra made a mockery of a Bollywood film song and “indirectly called” Eknath Shinde ‘traitor’ in the lingo no Tamil would deign to use. Kunal Kamra is a semi-permanent resident of Villupuram town in Tamil Nadu and is protected from further FIRs by a Madras High Court directive.

Important thing is, Kamra cannot make a song and dance about the song anymore. The whole jingle is now wrapped in a police-band, not to mention the Sena’s ‘dog whistle’. The Sena workers don’t recognize petitions, complaints and fundamental rights. Things like freedom of speech and expression.

All that matters is that the stand-up comedian made Eknath Shinde, Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, a laughing stock for which there will be consequences. There are limits to comedy and comic relief! Kunal Kamra forgot these life-saving homilies. One remedy is Dr. Ben Carson’s memory pills, the Bombay High Court may or may not quash the FIR against Kamra.

The stand-up comedian says the FIR infringes on his fundamental rights: freedom of speech and expression, right to practise a profession or trade, right to life and liberty. Of course, like everybody against the Modi government, Kamra also keeps saying these rights are guaranteed by the Constitution of India.

The little red book! Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi carries one with him. And Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra never forgets to pick one up when setting out for the Lok Sabha. Unlike the majority of Indian Muslims, comedian Kunal Kamra is no expert on the ‘Samvidhan’ or else he wouldn’t have placed himself in a position where he has to petition the Bombay High Court with an ‘SOS’.

The Mumbai Police knows the Constitution. So far the cops have sent three ‘summons’ to Kamra. To save Kamra, the comedian has to be questioned and it doesn’t matter if the Madras High Court has granted Kamra interim transit anticipatory bail or not. The joke is that the stand-up comedian must sit down on a bench and answer to the Bench!

The “traitor” jibe is a serious matter. The Deputy Chief Minister’s “patience” is pregnant with unpleasant possibilities. The no-nonsense Eknath Shinde isn’t like Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray. Shinde is a throwback to the old Sena days of Balasaheb Thackeray.

Kunal Kamra cannot hide in the skirts of the movie ‘Dil To Pagal Hai’ which he used to indirectly ridicule Shinde’s “rebellion”. Kamra now faces sections 353(1)(b) (statements conducing to public mischief) and 356(2) (defamation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

And he dare not step on Mumbai soil! But there is no ‘give’ in Kamra. “I will not apologise… I don’t fear this mob & I will not be hiding under my bed, waiting for this to die down,” Kamra wrote, adding that his statement was exactly what “Mr. Ajit Pawar (1st deputy CM) said about Mr. Eknath Shinde (2nd Deputy CM).”

Kunal Kamra is the only comedian with a noose to his own neck promising to forever stand-up! The sad part about the joke is that important people aren’t standing-up for Kamra. Half of India should be on ‘X’ supporting Kamra as there is more to comedy than just laughing at a joke about a ‘traitor’ who is not a ‘gaddar’!

The fact is, there is a limit to ‘cancel culture’ as also to blatant violations of the right to freedom and expression, emanating from both sides of the aisle, the right and the left and God save the fence-sitter! For example, can an editor ask a journalist to stop writing on a “particular topic”, because of political ramifications?

Since every individual these days has picked a side to align with and disagree with, the question was posed to ‘Meta’ and ‘Grok’. Guess what both AI placed their bets in favour of the editor, while agreeing to an extent that it could be a “form of censorship and restraint” and “whether this constitutes a violation of the right to expression depends on various factors.”

Meta AI pointed out reasonable limitations such as “workplace policies, employers’ guidelines for their employees’ work; editorial discretion to decide what content is published besides legal restrictions concerning libel, obscenity and national security concerns. The specific circumstances and applicable laws would ultimately determine whether the editor’s request constitutes a violation of the journalist’s right to expression.”

‘Grok’ agreed! “No, it does not generally amount to a violation of the right to expression. Here’s why: Editorial Discretion in Journalism. When a journalist works for a publication, he operates within an employment relationship where the editor has the authority to guide the content. Asking a journalist to stop writing on a specific topic is a standard part of editorial discretion, not a suppression of the journalist’s personal rights.

“The right to expression—freedom to share opinions and ideas without censorship—applies to individuals in their personal capacity (but) writing for a publication is a job governed by editorial oversight, not an unrestricted platform for personal views. The journalist remains free to express his opinions outside work, such as on social media…In general, an editor’s request for a journalist to stop writing on a particular topic falls within the norms of editorial control and does not violate the right to expression.”

So, what does this say about stand-up Kunal Kamra’s freedom to make fun of public figures and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s right to not to be made the butt of a joke that leaves him the laughing stock in and of a world where he has to forever strive to make his mark? The ball is in the Bombay High Court’s court! (IPA Service)

 

The post Kunal Kamra Case is about Limitations and Restrictions on Freedoms appeared first on Daily Excelsior.

News