Kunal Kamra Fights for Bail Over Controversial Comedy Remarks!

Stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra has asked the Madras High Court for anticipatory bail because of a police complaint against him. The complaint says he made insulting jokes about Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde during one of his comedy shows. Kamra believes this complaint is politically motivated and an attack on his freedom of speech. His lawyer, V. Suresh, has urged the court for an early hearing, and the judge scheduled it for later in the day.

Kamra filed his request online late Thursday night, saying he is innocent and has been wrongly accused to “harass and silence” him as an artist. He wants bail from the court, as he fears for his safety due to the upcoming public holidays and because he has to travel to Mumbai soon.

Previously, Shinde commented on the issue, saying, “Freedom of speech is important, but there should be limits. It feels like a contract to speak badly about someone.”

Kamra now lives in Tamil Nadu and is worried about his safety if he goes to Mumbai, especially since the Mumbai Police had asked him to come in for questioning. Kamra’s show included a parody of a popular song from the 1997 movie “Dil Toh Pagal Hai,” where he made remarks about Shinde and the split in the Shiv Sena party in 2022. He argues that the police complaint doesn’t prove any crime like public mischief or defamation.

His show, called “Naya Bharat,” was performed in February and shared on social media. On March 23, some Shiv Sena members reportedly vandalized the venue, and later, an FIR was filed against him. Kamra insists that his parody did not mention anyone by name. He has pointed to a Supreme Court case to support his claim that anticipatory bail can stop politically motivated arrests. He believes the incident shows that the complaint against him is harmful and made just to hurt him.