Mumbai: In a major relief to stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra, the Bombay High Court on Friday directed the Mumbai Police to not arrest him in connection with an FIR lodged over his satirical video and ‘gaddar’ comment purportedly made against Maharashtra’s Deputy CM Eknath Shinde.While directing Mumbai police not to take any coercive action against the comedian, the high court, however, allowed police to continue their investigation against Kamra. Police can go to Chennai, where Kamra resides and take help of the local police, if it seeks to record Kamra’s statements, said a division bench of Justices Sarang Kotwal and Shriram Modak said. The court admitted Kamra’s petition seeking the quashing of the FIR and said he shall not be arrested in respect of the FIR during the pendency of the plea. “However, the investigation in this case can continue. If the investigating agency wants to record the petitioner’s statement, the same can be recorded in Chennai with the help of local police after giving notice of reasonable period to the petitioner so that he can remain present in Chennai. If during the pendency of this petition the chargesheet is filed, the concerned court (trial court) shall not proceed against the petitioner during pendency of this petition,” the high court said. The Bombay High Court on April 16 had granted protection from arrest to Kamra till the pronouncement of the verdict. Earlier, the Madras High Court had extended interim protection from arrest to Kamra till April 17. Taking cognisance of a complaint filed by Shiv Sena MLA Murji Patel, the Mumbai police had booked Kamra on March 24 for offences punishable under sections 353(1)(b) and 353(2) (statements conducing to public mischief), along with 356(2) (defamation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The FIR had been filed following the circulation of a video in which Kamra allegedly mocked Shinde and referred to him as a ‘gaddar,’ sparking outrage among the Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) supporters. In his stand-up comedy show in March, Kamra’s performance featured a parody song with a reference to Shinde’s 2022 defection from the undivided Shiv Sena.
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