Just a day after the Madras High Court granted interim anticipatory bail to comedian Kunal Kamra, who has stirred a controversy with his jibe at Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, three cases were filed against the stand-up comedian at Mumbai’s Khar Police Station. The three complainants are the Mayor of Jalgaon city, a hotelier and a businessman from Nashik as revealed by Mumbai Police to news agency ANI.
On Friday, the Madras High Court granted Kamra relief on the condition that he should execute a bond to the satisfaction of the judicial magistrate at Vanur in Villupuram district in Tamil Nadu. Justice Sunder Mohan also issued notice to 2nd Respondent (Khar Police) and posted the matter to April 7.
Meanwhile, Khar Police has issued summons to the 36-year-old comedian twice asking him to appear before them in Mumbai for questioning but he has not turned up yet. A Zero FIR was lodged against Kamra under Sections 353(1)(b), 353(2) [Public mischief] and 356(2) [Defamation] BNS by Shiv Sena MLA Muraji Patel. The FIR was later transferred to Khar police station in Mumbai.
In the second summons issued earlier this week, Kamra has been asked to appear before the Khar Police on March 31, following which he submitted petition seeking anticipatory bail in Madras High Court fearing arrest by Mumbai Police. Kamra is a resident of Villupuram town in Tamil Nadu which comes under the jurisdiction of Madras High Court and hence he had filed the petition there.
Kamra’s “gaddar” jibe at Eknath Shinde
Kamra, known for his satirical style of comedy, was performing at a stand-up show at the Unicontinental Hotel in Mumbai’s Khar area, where he mocked Shinde’s defection from the Shiv Sena and his alliance with the BJP by allegedly calling him a “gaddar” (traitor) in an indirect manner. The jokes, which included a parody of a song from the Bollywood movie “Dil To Pagal Hai”, were aimed at Shinde, even though Kamra did not mention him by name. His performance quickly gained attention on social media, following which it triggered a series of protests and even violence.
Kunal Kamra refuses to apologise
Refusing to apologise for his act, the comedian recently issued a statement on social media where he wrote, “I will not apologise. What I said is exactly what Mr. Ajit Pawar (1st Deputy CM) said about Mr. Eknath Shinde (2nd Deputy CM). I don’t fear this mob and I will not be hiding under my bed, waiting for this to die down.”
Highlighting the importance of freedom of speech in India, Kunal Kamra further mentioned in his statement, “Our right to freedom of speech and expression is not only to be used to fawn over the powerful and rich even though today’s media would have us believe otherwise. Your inability to take a joke at the expense of a powerful public figure does not change the nature of my right. As far as I know, it is not against the law to poke fun at our leaders and the circus that is our political system.”
