'Traitor' jibe case: Kunal Kamra moves Bombay HC against FIR

Stand-up comedian and activist Kunal Kamra has approached the Bombay High Court, seeking to quash an FIR lodged against him by the city police for allegedly directing a 'traitor' jibe at Maharashtra deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde.

Kamra moved the high court on 5 April. His plea has claimed the complaints against him were violative of his fundamental rights of freedom of speech and expression, right to practice any profession and business and right to life and liberty guaranteed under the Constitution of India.

The plea, filed through advocate Meenaz Kakalia, is likely to come up for hearing before a bench headed by Justice Sarang Kotwal on 21 April. Kamra last month obtained interim transit anticipatory bail from the Madras High Court in the case against him, as a permanent resident of Tamil Nadu.

The comedian has failed to appear before Mumbai Police for questioning despite three summons issued to him.

During a show in Mumbai in January, which was posted to YouTube as a video titled Naya Bharat in March, Kamra had taunted Shinde without naming him, using a modified version of a song from the Hindi film Dil To Pagal Hai, where he called him a gaddar (traitor).

The comedian then went on to joke about how Shinde rebelled against Uddhav Thackeray, who now heads the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray).

Following a complaint by Shiv Sena MLA Murji Patel, Mumbai Police registered the FIR against Kamra under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections 353(1)(b) (statements conducive to public mischief) and 356(2) (defamation).

Since the controversy broke, what appeared to be Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) workers stormed the Heritage Centre studio in which Kamra's show was recorded and vandalised it, leading to the studio shutting down for the time being. Reports have also emerged of members of the audience being summoned to join the investigation, and sundry state ministers have made threats to cause him harm should he set foot in Mumbai.

Meanwhile, Kamra's video on his YouTube channel has garnered over 13 million views, with viewer donations amounting to thousands of rupees and messages of support pouring in. He has also refused to apologise for his alleged remarks on Shinde, which was a demand by Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.

With PTI inputs