In significant update Bombay high court has issued a notice to the Mumbai police and Shiv Sena MLA Murji Patel in response to a plea filed y comedian Kunal Kamra, Challenging an FIR lodged against him. The FIR was registered for allegedly passing a "traitor" jibe at Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde during a stand-up comedy show. The court scheduled a hearing for April 16, 2025. A division bench, comprising Justices Sarang Kotwal and S M Modak, directed the police and Patel to take instructions and respond to the plea. Despite of 3 summons Kunal has not appeared before the police and he has filed the petition on April 5, seeking the quashing of the FIR.
The comedian, who has not appeared before the police despite three summonses being issued, filed the petition on April 5, seeking the quashing of the FIR. Kamra's counsel, senior advocate Navroz Seervai, informed the court that the comedian had offered to cooperate with the investigation through video conference, citing threats to his life and safety. Kamra has been residing in Tamil Nadu since 2021, as stated in his plea.
Kamra's petition argues that the FIR is a violation of his fundamental rights, particularly the right to freedom of speech and expression, and his right to life and liberty. The comedian contends that his remarks were made in the context of a satirical commentary on political events, specifically the split within the Shiv Sena and Shinde's rebellion against Uddhav Thackeray in 2022.
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The comedian's legal team argued that the investigation, stemming from a stand-up routine satirizing socio-political developments, infringed upon Kamra's constitutionally protected freedom of speech and constituted an abuse of legal process. They sought protection from coercive actions like arrest and device seizure during the investigation of the show, scripted in July 2024 and performed from August 2024 to February 2025, before its online posting in March 2025 led to the FIR. Kamra, currently protected by interim transit anticipatory bail granted by the Madras High Court until April 17, has offered to cooperate virtually, despite police requests for his physical presence. The court will review the case on April 16, 2025.