Kamra claims the case was politically motivated and tried to curb his freedom of speech.
According to the TOI report, Kamra’s lawyer V. Suresh mentioned a petition for an emergency hearing before Justice Sundar Mohan, and the court arranged for a trial at the end of the board. The request was made late Thursday night through the electronic application system.
Kamra asserted in the petition that he was innocent and was falsely implicated through “freckless complaints” designed to “harass and censor the artist.” He had sought expected interstate bail on the grounds that he was concerned about his safety and the upcoming public holiday.
Shinde commented on the controversy earlier, saying: “Free speech is there. We understand irony. But there should be a limit. It’s like taking ‘Supari’ (contract) to speak to someone.”
Kamra, who has lived in Tamil Nadu since February 2021, is worried about whether he will travel to Mumbai on March 31. FIR claims Kamra showed a parody of the pop songs from the 1997 film Dil Toh Pagal Hai, commenting on Shinde and 2022’s Shiv Sena Split. His defense argues that FIR has not established public mischief or slander. Kamra’s petition also highlighted that his show, Naya Bharat, was conducted in February and uploaded on social media. Shiv Sena members allegedly destroyed the venue on March 23 and sent him a Fir later that night. Kamra insists that the controversial song does not mention anyone’s name.
Kamra relied on a Supreme Court ruling in Priya Indonesia, Kamra argued that the expected bail was to prevent politically motivated arrests. According to TOI, his defense asserted that “FIR reflects politically motivated complaints, and subsequent sabotage of political affiliations further demonstrated the malicious nature of the case.”
(Input with TOI)
