Crime Today News
The Madras High Court on Friday granted interim anticipatory bail to stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra in a case filed against him in Mumbai concerning his satirical remarks about Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Live Law reported.
Justice Sunder Mohan granted anticipatory bail to Kamra till April 7.
The judge said he was satisfied at a preliminary level that Kamra would not be able to approach courts in Maharashtra for anticipatory bail. He allowed Kamra to send a private notice to the Khar police station in Mumbai, which is investigating the case against him.
The comedian said in his petition that the Madras High Court had the jurisdiction to hear his anticipatory bail petition as he is a permanent resident of Villupuram town in Tamil Nadu.
On March 23, Kamra posted a video on his YouTube channel in which he ostensibly criticised Shinde while performing a satirical version of a song from a Hindi film. The comedian alluded to Shinde as a “traitor” while referring to his 2022 rebellion against former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and the ensuing political crisis in Maharashtra. He, however, did not mention Shinde by name.
After clips of the performance were widely shared on social media, workers of the Shinde-led faction of the Shiv Sena on the night of March 23 vandalised The Habitat Studio in Mumbai’s Khar area, where it was recorded.
The next day, the Mumbai Police filed a case against Kamra under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita pertaining to defamation and public mischief. The police also sent the comedian two summonses, asking him to appear for questioning before March 31, The Indian Express reported.
Kamra sought seven days to travel to Mumbai but the city police denied his request.
FIR in Pune against posters carrying Shinde cartoon
The Pune Police on Wednesday filed a case against the display of posters featuring a cartoon of Shinde that referenced Kamra’s performance, The Indian Express reported.
Alongside Shinde’s caricature, the posters asked whether the words “Thane, rickshaw, chashma, dadhi, Guwahati and gaddar [traitor]” had been banned in Maharashtra. The posters were allegedly put up near Alka Talkies in Pune by members of the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray).
Based on a complaint by an official of the Pune Municipal Corporation named Rajendra Kewate, the police filed a case under the Maharashtra Prevention of Defacement of Property Act.
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