Law student moves HC against FIRs on satirists and artists

A second-year law student has filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in the Bombay High Court, seeking guidelines to prevent arbitrary FIRs against artists and public speakers engaged in satire and political criticism.

- Ayesha Arvind

BENGALURU: The Madras high court on Friday granted interim anticipatory bail to standup comic Kunal Kamra in connection with the FIR lodged against him in Khar over his satirical take on Maharashtra politics.

Justice Sunder Mohan granted bail to Kamra until April 7 after taking note of his argument that he couldn't approach a court in Maharashtra because of the FIRs against him. The court also issued notices to the Tamil Nadu government and the Khar Police Station, Mumbai. "The petitioner is a standup comedian. He made comments in a show in January and the video was released recently. The petitioner says he is facing life threats and is unable to approach courts in Maharashtra. This court is inclined to grant him interim anticipatory bail," the high court said.

The 36-year-old stand-up comedian has kicked up a major political storm in Maharashtra after he referred to Shinde as a "traitor" during his performance at the Habitat Studio at the Unicontinental hotel in Mumbai, where he went on to sing a parody about Shinde.