The Mumbai Police has served notices to audience members who attended a stand-up comedy show by comedian Kunal Kamra in which he had ostensibly criticised Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, The Times of India reported on Tuesday.

The newspaper quoted Indian Police Service officer-turned-lawyer YP Singh as saying that summoning members of the audience was not mandatory in this case as electronic evidence is available.

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, members 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.

Kamra sought seven days to travel to Mumbai, but the police had denied his request.

On Friday, the Madras High Court granted interim anticipatory bail to Kamra till April 7 in the case. Justice Sunder Mohan stated he was satisfied at a preliminary level that Kamra would not be able to approach courts in Maharashtra for anticipatory bail.

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.

A day later, three additional first information reports were registered against Kamra based on the complaints filed by Shinde Sena workers.

In their complaints, the Shinde Sena workers claimed that Kamra “defamed the moral conduct” of the deputy chief minister. “He also created hatred between the two political parties by making derogatory statements,” the newspaper quoted the complaints as having stated.

The state government has sought an apology from Kamra for his joke.

On March 24, the comedian stated that he does not “fear this mob” and will not apologise for his joke.

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