No vindictive action taken against anyone for re-sharing Kunal Kamra video: HC

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday said the Maharashtra government has not taken vindictive action against any person for resharing or reuploading standup comic Kunal Kamras video in which he indirectly passed a traitor jibe at Deputy Chief Minister Eknath ShindeA bench of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice M S Karnik made the observation while refusing to entertain a public interest litigation PIL filed by a 25yearold law student questioning the governments action against Kamra and also the Mumbai hotel where the controversial comedy show was shotThe court also noted the aggrieved person Kamra has already filed a petition in the HC seeking to quash the FIR lodged against him at a Mumbai police station over his critical comments against Shinde who heads the ruling Shiv SenaThe person aggrieved is before this court He is not poor or illiterate Why are you present PIL petitioner fighting his cause He has taken action for relief the HC observedThe PIL filed by law student Harshwardhan Khandekar contended filing FIRs against a comedian for expressing his political views was violative of fundamental rights enshrined in the ConstitutionHis lawyer Amit Katarnwaware said several politicians belonging to a party which is an ally in the states ruling coalition have warned of action against anyone who shares or uploads Kamras video containing jokes directed at ShindePublic prosecutor Hiten Venegaonkar told the bench the government has not taken any action against any person who has shared or uploaded the videoThe court took note of this statement and observed there have been no instances where state authorities have taken any vindictive action against any person who has shared the video made by Kamra 36 who himself uploaded it last monthIt is also pertinent to note that the aggrieved person Kamra has already approached this court seeking to quash the FIR He has also got interim protection from arrest from the Madras the HC the bench pointed outIn respect of the vandalism of the studio where the standup show was shot an FIR has been lodged and the accused persons have been arrested it maintainedIn view of this we are not inclined to entertain this PIL at this stage and hence the same is disposed of the court saidLate last month 12 Shiv Sena workers were arrested for vandalising the Mumbai studio where Kamras comedy was shot They were later granted bail by a city courtDuring the show Kamra had taunted Shinde without taking his name using a modified version of a popular Hindi song from the 1997 film Dil To Pagal Hai where he called him a gaddar traitorThe comedian referred to Shindes early profession in Thane before he entered politics and also made references to his rebellion against thenChief Minister Uddhav Thackeray in June 2022Kamras petition seeking to quash the FIR is due for hearing on April 16This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoeveratOptionskeyd0ddb8ef8f1a62a8cdd22fac27fc5ea7formatiframeheight90width728params