Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Wednesday observed that the Maharashtra government has not taken any “vindictive” action against individuals who shared or uploaded stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra’s video, in which he allegedly insulted Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
Bombay HC Refuses To Entertain The PIL
The court refused to entertain a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by a 25-year-old law student challenging the state’s actions against Kamra and the hotel where the video was recorded. It noted that Kamra, the aggrieved party, has already approached the court seeking quashing of the FIR and has secured interim relief from the Madras High Court.
“The person aggrieved is before this court. He is not poor or illiterate. Why are you (the PIL petitioner) fighting his cause? He has already sought relief,” said a bench of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice M.S. Karnik.
The PIL, filed by Harshwardhan Khandekar, claimed that lodging FIRs against a comedian for expressing political views violated fundamental rights under the Constitution.
Harshwardhan’s advocate pointed out that several politicians from the ruling party had threatened action against those sharing Kamra’s video.
Public Prosecutor Hiten Venegaonkar submitted that the government had not taken any action against those who shared the video. Instead, FIRs had been registered against individuals involved in the vandalism of the studio where the show was filmed. The accused have been arrested.
The court recorded in its order that no vindictive action had been taken by the state against any individual for uploading or sharing the video. It also noted Kamra’s pending petition to quash the FIR and the interim protection from arrest granted by the Madras High Court.
“In view of this, we are not inclined to entertain this PIL at this stage and hence the same is disposed of,” the court said, granting the petitioner liberty to seek appropriate remedies in the future.
Kamra’s petition is scheduled for hearing on April 16 before a bench of Justices Sarang Kotwal and S.M. Modak.
