No vindictive action taken against those who shared Kunal Kamra’s videos, Maharashtra tells HC
A law student had approached the Bombay High Court demanding that action should not be taken against those who reposted the comedian’s videos.
The Maharashtra government on Wednesday told the Bombay High Court that it has not taken vindictive action against any persons who shared video clips or sang satirical songs from a performance by comedian Kunal Kamra, The Indian Express reported.
Public Prosecutor Hiten Venegaonkar, representing the state government, made the statement in response to a public interest litigation by a law student named Harshavardhan Khandekar. The petitioner demanded that Kamra’s freedom of speech should be protected, and no action should be taken against persons who reposted clips from his performance, or sang satirical songs from it.
The public prosecutor said there was not even a single instance where the government took vindictive action against any individuals for such acts.
A bench of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice MS Karnik disposed of the petition, allowing the petitioner to “take appropriate remedy or recourse if any such occasion arises in future”.
The judges also noted that the Madras High Court has granted interim anticipatory bail to Kamra, and that his petition challenging the cases against him is pending before the Bombay High Court, Bar and Bench reported.
“Person aggrieved [Kamra] is seeking relief [before the courts],” the bench verbally told the petitioner. “He is not poor or illiterate and why are you fighting his cause? We are not inclined to entertain at your instance.”
On March 23, Kamra posted a video on his YouTube channel, where he alluded to Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde as a “traitor” while referring to his 2022 rebellion against former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and the ensuing political crisis in the state. 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 arrested 12 members of the Shinde-led Shiv Sena for the vandalisation of The Habitat studio. They, however, got bail on March 24.
The police have summoned Kamra for questioning three times, but he has not appeared before them so far.
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