Stand-up comic Kunal Kamra on Monday approached the Bombay High Court seeking to quash an FIR filed against him in connection with his remarks referring to Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde as a “traitor” during one of his recent performances.
The remark sparked a row after the stand-up show “Naya Bharat” went live, leading Shiv Sena workers to vandalise Mumbai’s Habitat Studio, where Kamra had performed the set.
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The comedian filed a quashing petition before the Bombay HC against the FIR registered at Khar police station over his show. Senior counsel Navroz Seervai is expected to mention the matter for urgent hearing and seek interim relief against any coercive action by the police.
The Madras High Court had earlier granted interim anticipatory bail to Kamra in the matter after noting that he was unable to approach courts in Maharashtra due to threats of physical violence against him by political party workers.
The interim order protecting him from arrest will expire on Monday.
Kamra, in a stand-up show, had sung a parody song in which a reference was made to a ‘gaddar’ (traitor), which was taken to denote Eknath Shinde. The reference is said to allude to Shinde’s decision to quit the once-united Shiv Sena party led by Uddhav Thackeray and join hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Shinde’s action had led to a split in the Shiv Sena, with the Shinde faction of the Shiv Sena eventually rising to power in the state through a coalition with the BJP.
Kamra was booked for offences under sections 353(1)(b), 353(2) (public mischief) and 356(2) (defamation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) based on a complaint filed by Shiv Sena legislator Muraji Patel.
The FIR was lodged in Mumbai though Kamra is a resident of Villuparam in Tamil Nadu.
Kamra’s latest move comes after he was served a third summons by the Mumbai Police on April 2. Like the other two summonses, he decided to give the third one a skip and requested the police to record his statements via video conferencing.
A week back, the Mumbai Police reached Kamra’s Mumbai residence to serve him summons after he failed to appear for questioning. Kamra, who is a resident of Tamil Nadu, said it was a “waste of time and public resources” to visit a place where he has not lived for the past 10 years.
