Bombay High Court Reserves Order on Kunal Kamra's FIR Quashing Plea

The Bombay High Court has reserved the order on comedian Kunal Kamra's plea to quash an FIR filed against him for allegedly making defamatory remarks against Maharashtra's Deputy Chief Minister. The court instructed police not to arrest Kamra until the order is delivered.

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday reserved its order on comedian Kunal Kamra's plea seeking to quash an FIR against him for allegedly making defamatory remarks about Maharashtra's Deputy Chief Minister, Eknath Shinde. The court, ensuring Kamra's protection from arrest, instructed police not to detain him until the order is finalized.

A division bench composed of Justices S Kotwal and S Modak made this decision after hearing arguments from both sides. The FIR accuses Kamra of referring to Shinde as a 'traitor' during a comedy show, alluding to him indirectly through a tweaked version of a popular Bollywood song.

Kamra, who resides in Tamil Nadu, has filed this plea claiming that the complaints infringe on his constitutional rights to free speech and liberty. Despite repeated summonses by Mumbai police for questioning, Kamra has not appeared, yet he received interim anticipatory bail from the Madras High Court last month.

(With inputs from agencies.)