A fortnight after the Mumbai police registered a First Information Report (FIR) against him for his “jibe” against Maharashtra’s deputy chief minister and Shiv Sena chief leader Eknath Shinde, the Bombay High Court will on Tuesday hear the petition of stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra seeking quashing of the FIR against him.
In a related development, the Madras High Court, on Monday, which had granted interim protection till 7 April, extended it by 10 days till 17 April. In his petition, Kamra has contended that the FIR infringes upon his Constitutional rights guaranteed under Articles — 19 (1) (a) (right to freedom of speech and expression), 19 (1) (g) (right to practice any profession and business) and 21 (right to life and personal liberty).
After he held his stand-up show Naya Bharat in Mumbai in February 2025, the show was uploaded on YouTube channel on 23 February after which the Shiv Sena workers ransacked the habitat in the Unicontinental hotel in Khar suburbs of Mumbai. After the video sparked a controversy, the Mumbai police registered an FIR against Kumra.
An FIR was registered against Kamra on March 24 under Sections 353 (1) (b), 353 (2) (public mischief) and 356 (2) (defamation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, based on a complaint from Shiv Sena MLA Muraji Patel in the
Saki Naka police station, which was later transferred to Khar police station in Mumbai. Kamra’s petition was originally listed for hearing on 21 April. However, Kamra’s counsel Navroz Seervai mentioned the petition before a division bench comprising Justice Sarang Kotwal and Justice S M Modak seeking urgent hearing, which was granted.