Bombay High Court to Hear Kamra's Plea Against FIR Tomorrow Amid Death Threats

Mumbai, April 7 (NationPress) In light of the alleged “death threats” directed at stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra, the Bombay High Court has scheduled an urgent hearing for Tuesday regarding his plea to annul several FIRs filed against him for his purported “jibe” at Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

Kamra was charged by Mumbai Police for allegedly calling Shinde a “traitor (gaddar)” in a song performed during his show last month and later sharing a video of this on social media. He has missed three summons from the Mumbai Police up to this point.

A Bench consisting of Justice Sarang Kotwal and Justice S.M. Modak consented to review Kamra’s petition on Tuesday, acknowledging his claims of “extreme urgency” due to the reported death threats against him.

The High Court's initial hearing date for his petition was set for April 21, but it has been moved forward at his request.

In his petition, Kamra asserts that the charges against him violate his fundamental right to freedom of expression under Article 19, as well as his right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution.

He approached the Bombay High Court shortly after the Madras High Court granted him interim protection from arrest until April 7. Notably, he has yet to respond to three summons from the Mumbai Police.

Kamra gained attention two weeks ago when he performed a parody of 'Bholi Si Surat', a well-known song from the Bollywood film 'Dil To Pagal Hai', while allegedly referring to Shinde as “gaddar”.

Following Shinde's rebellion in June 2022, the Shiv Sena experienced a split, resulting in the collapse of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maharashtra government. Since then, Thackeray and his son Aditya have employed the term “gaddar” to indirectly criticize Shinde.

Kamra's parody, seen as a direct attack on Shinde, incited furious protests from Shiv Sena supporters, who vandalized the studio where his show was filmed.

The state legislature also erupted in response to this incident, with members of the Mahayuti alliance condemning Kamra for targeting Deputy CM Shinde and demanding an apology from him.

Shiv Sena activists have issued threats to retaliate against Kamra. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has also promised severe consequences for Kamra, stating that the government will not tolerate any attempts to undermine the Constitution and freedom of speech.

Fadnavis clarified that freedom of speech must remain within constitutional boundaries, warning that any transgressions will not be accepted.

A breach of privilege notice was additionally filed against Kamra in the Maharashtra Legislative Council during the recent Budget Session.

Kamra declared that he would not apologize for his remarks, asserting, “I don’t fear this mob, and I will not be hiding under my bed, waiting for this to die down.”

In a post on X, Kamra stated, “I will not apologise. What I said is exactly what Mr Ajit Pawar (first Dy CM) said about Eknath Shinde (second Dy CM). To the political elders threatening to teach me a lesson, 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.”

He then criticized the Mumbai Police's decision to issue notices to an audience member who attended his show, requesting to record his statement.