Madras High Court grants interim anticipatory bail to Kunal Kamra amid arrest demands over Eknath Shinde remark

Comedian Kunal Kamra

The Madras High Court on Friday granted interim anticipatory bail to stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra in a case related to his comments on Maharashtra deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde. Justice Sunder Mohan issued an order for interim anticipatory bail until April 7, with conditions imposed.

Kamra had sought inter-state bail citing his domicile in Tamil Nadu (as residing in the state since February 2021) and requested the bail since he has been receiving a lot of threats following his recent satirical comments.

The stand-up comedian submitted that he moved to Tamil Nadu from Mumbai in 2021 and has been "ordinarily a resident of this State since then" and that he feared arrest by Mumbai Police.

Kamra was on Friday granted relief on the condition that he should execute a bond to the satisfaction of the judicial magistrate at Vanur in Villupuram district in Tamil Nadu, PTI reported. Mohan issued the order after observing that Kamra is unable to approach courts in Maharashtra due to threats of physical harm from political party workers.

The lawyer, appearing for Kamra, told the high court that the comedian has received over 500 calls so far. “They say they will ‘teach them in Shiv Sena style’. What is ‘Shiv Sena style’ is common knowledge… The people who vandalised the hotel – no serious action taken, they are let out on bail. This is the type of threat I am facing. I have always said I believe in the Constitution," Kamra’s counsel was quoted as saying by Bar and Bench.

The controversy stems from Kamra's show at the Habitat Comedy Club in Mumbai's Khar, where he performed a parody song targeting Shinde. The act prompted a strong backlash from Shiv Sena supporters, who vandalised the club and the hotel in which it is located.

Kamra was booked by the Khar police on a complaint by Shiv Sena MLA Murji Patel for allegedly making defamatory remarks against the deputy CM.

The stand-up comedian's counsel, meanwhile, stated that nobody was specifically targeted in the show. “Parody is part of satire.. Supreme Court has said satire, parody is part of accepted speech," he added.