Stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra has approached the Bombay High Court, challenging the FIR filed against him over a remark he allegedly made about Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde during his comedy show ‘Naya Bharat’.
Kamra contends that the FIR lacks legal merit and seeks its cancellation, questioning its “legality, correctness, and propriety.”
Filed on March 24 at the Khar Police Station, the FIR accuses Kamra of making a derogatory reference to Shinde, labeling him a “gaddar” (traitor). The comedian has now filed a petition seeking the quashing of the case and urging the court to stay the investigation while protecting him from any coercive action.
This legal move follows the third summons issued by Mumbai Police on April 2, which Kamra, like the previous two, did not attend. Instead, he requested that his statement be recorded via video conferencing, citing security concerns.
On Monday, Kamra’s lawyers, Senior Advocate Navroz Seervai and Advocate Ashwin Thool, presented the petition before a bench comprising Justices Sarang V. Kotwal and S.M. Modak, seeking an expedited hearing.
Kamra’s plea argued that his life is under threat, yet police have not permitted him to join the inquiry remotely. The petition described the insistence on his physical presence as “unreasonable” under these circumstances.
The legal team also informed the court that a police unit from Khar had reportedly reached Pondicherry, where Kamra currently resides. “This is of grave importance as it affects other people, and there is a threat to his life,” Seervai stated.
While noting this, the bench advised Kamra’s counsel that he should consider filing a pre-arrest bail plea. The court, however, agreed only to hear the plea concerning the FIR’s quashing and listed the matter for hearing on Tuesday.
Kamra’s legal counsel also highlighted that his plea for anticipatory bail is pending before the Madras High Court and may be heard later in the day. They emphasized the need for urgency, stating that the situation is “spiralling out of hand.”
The petition also expressed concern over the manner in which summonses were being delivered late at night and at his parental home in Mumbai, despite police being aware that Kamra has not lived there for the past decade. “The police have also proceeded to disturb the Petitioner’s senior citizen parents at the late hour of 10:30 pm under the garb of furnishing the summons (despite knowing the Petitioner does not reside there),” the plea stated.
Kamra questioned the integrity of the complainant, Shiv Sena MLA Murji Patel, noting that Patel has multiple FIRs against him, including one alleging fabrication of a caste certificate. According to the complaint, Kamra made offensive remarks at the Habitat Studio in Khar that not only defamed Shinde’s moral standing but also incited hostility between political factions. Patel alleged: “Kamra also created hatred between two political parties by tarnishing the sentiments of our party and our rival political parties towards each other.”
The comedian now faces charges under Sections 353(1)(b), 353(2) (related to statements causing public mischief), and 356(2) (defamation) of the Bhartiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS).
Kamra, a resident of Tamil Nadu, criticised the police’s decision to serve the summons at his Mumbai address, calling it a misuse of public funds. He termed it a “waste of time and public resources” to visit a residence he hasn’t occupied for the past ten years.
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