Chennai, Tamil Nadu: Comedian Kunal Kamra’s advocate V. Suresh said, Between March 24 and 27, the situation in Bombay became unsafe for Kunal, prompting him to seek Transit Anticipatory Bail from the Madras High Court. The court issued notice to Bombay police for their response and adjourned the hearing to April 7. Meanwhile, it granted interim anticipatory bail, barring Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra police from arresting him until then, and allowed us to serve notice on the petition.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Kunal Kamra had recorded sometime in February 2025 this program called Naya Bharat.
00:11This was uploaded on 23rd March last Sunday.
00:17It was actually filmed about a month previously.
00:20Now, as soon after it was uploaded, it came in for a very adverse reaction from the ruling
00:29party in Maharashtra.
00:30Now, it is very interesting and very important to keep note of the fact that in this Naya
00:35Bharat show which has now become the problem issue, he has talked about several people.
00:39He has talked about many others including about Sudha Murthy, he has talked about Ambani's
00:43son, he has talked about other political personalities.
00:47He also talks about a political personality from Maharashtra.
00:51The important thing to be kept in mind is that he does not name this person in Maharashtra
00:57and he also parodies his comment through a song, through a well-known old Bollywood song.
01:05He parodies the situation of political parties being won in 2022 or 2023, then it becoming
01:12split and one person going out and the other person remaining in.
01:16It is all in parody, it is all in innuendo and it is in a way a criticism of the way
01:20the politics has been practiced in India.
01:24He also talks about one of them being a Gaddar or a traitor in terms of that and he goes
01:29on to build on that sentiment.
01:32Now, that is the subject matter on which a complaint came to be filed on the very same
01:38night on the day it was uploaded.
01:41On the evening of 23rd, last Sunday, a big team of people belonging to the Shiv Sen Ashinde
01:47group went to the Continental Hotel in Bombay where it was allegedly filmed and ransacked
01:53the whole house.
01:54They ransacked the place, damaged equipment, beat up people in that local area and created
02:02a lot of ruckus in that thing.
02:04The police had come there, everything has been videographed, the police nominally arrested
02:09them for ransacking, for illegally entering into that place and gave them cash bail.
02:16The very next day, the judicial magistrate also granted them bail.
02:18The police did not think it serious because the people who, the Shiv Senics of the ruling
02:23party who had gone there, although they committed serious offences, had necessarily given them
02:30very lower type of offences on them.
02:34In the meantime, a sitting ruling party MLA filed an FAR against Kunal Kamra under sections
02:43353.1.2 and 356.
02:46The last one is on defamation.
02:48The other two ones are in terms of using obscene language to create enmity.
02:52The FAR was filed on the same night and the next morning it came out.
02:58Subsequently, there has been a lot of violence in terms of the response to the Shiv Senic
03:04people.
03:05Within a very short time, ruling party MLAs, some ministers and various other political
03:12personalities belonging to the ruling Shiv Sena grouping in Maharashtra and the CM also
03:20then came on and gave a statement on that.
03:24The sum and substance of the statement of various people who came out with threats was
03:31that we will teach them a lesson, the Shiv Sena way.
03:34The Shiv Sena way has been a part of a language that has been used by various people.
03:41Some people threatened that a ruling party MLA threatened that we will blacken his face
03:45if he comes there.
03:46There was also a threat of killing in terms of saying we will cut him into pieces.
03:51One can say it is a hyperbole but these are things that are very serious for the person
03:56concerned.
03:57They also threatened him with very dire consequences if he were to come back to Bombay.
04:02This went on for several days and naturally it was dangerous for Kunal Kamra to go to
04:09Bombay at this particular point in time.
04:11In the meantime, on the 24th of March, that is on Monday, the Khar police station where
04:18the affair was registered gave a notice to Kunal Kamra's parents who stay in Bombay.
04:27It was addressed to Kunal Kamra asking him to come to the police station on the 25th,
04:31one day later.
04:32To which Kunal Kamra's centre replied saying that he is not in Bombay and that it may not
04:38be possible for him to come on that next day because of prior commitments and asking
04:42for permission to present himself before the police station on the 2nd of April.
04:49On the 26th of April, the Bombay police replied saying no, you have to come immediately and
04:54they gave him a reply called a reminder saying that he should appear before the police station
05:01in Khar on the 31st of March which is a Monday which is also a holiday because of Ramzan
05:07at 10.30.
05:08So, it was very clear that they wanted him to come there.
05:12In the meantime, he has also gone on record to say that I believe in the constitution
05:16of India, I am also a law abiding citizen and I will present myself to the police.
05:22He never ever told that I will not stand for justice through the legal process and the
05:28process of law.
05:30The police said no.
05:32He also said in view of the circumstances because of his prior commitments and him being
05:35outside, he is also open to appearing on video conference before the police to answer all
05:42answers, all questions that the police may ask.
05:44The police said no, you have to come in person.
05:47Now between the 24th and the 27th which was Thursday, the situation had become so dramatically
05:53surcharged that it was no longer physically safe for him to go to Bombay.
06:00So he then filed a petition for what is called Transit Anticipatory Bail or in Chennai where
06:08he stays now in Tamil Nadu, what is called Interstate Anticipatory Bail.
06:13So we filed an Interstate Anticipatory Bail on Friday, that is yesterday morning.
06:21We also showed the court documents of all the threats that has been issued to him through
06:28various platforms, social media platform, print platform, video platform before the
06:33court and impressed upon the court that it should take it up emergently.
06:37So yesterday the Madras High Court took up the case emergently, it was filed in the morning,
06:41they took it up in the evening and they felt that they needed to hear the Bombay police
06:46in terms of what their comments was or their response was to the Anticipatory Bail petition.
06:51So the court said we will give notice to the Bombay police asking them to appear.
06:56So the petition has been now adjourned for further hearing on the 7th of April which is a Monday.
07:05In the meantime, they also gave permission to us as his counsels to serve notice on the
07:10Bombay police about the fact of the petition and the fact that it has been adjourned to
07:15the 7th and very importantly the fact that the court has now also granted Interim Anticipatory
07:22Bail putting a condition on both the Tamil Nadu police and the Maharashtra police not
07:29to take any coercive action against the person. The word coercive action is not there,
07:33but Interim Anticipatory Bail not to take any action to arrest him until the 7th.
07:38This order, the court also gave us permission to be put to notice to the Bombay police.
07:45So yesterday night itself we have sent notice about the Madras High Court granting Interim
07:53Protection through the Interim Anticipatory Bail to the Khar police. We sent it by
07:59post, by speed post yesterday itself. We have also sent it by way of email
08:04into the official email ID which is there in the notice that was given to Konal Kamra to appear
08:09before the court. So we also sent not just the notice, we have also sent the copy of the petition
08:16and the copy of the documents which we filed in the court which is what we are duty-bound to
08:19send to the Khar police. So the Khar police is now informed about what has happened.
08:24They have the petition that we filed, they also have the documents that we have filed before the
08:28court and hopefully they will come up on the 7th before the Madras High Court and for further
08:34proceedings. See there is obviously threat which is why we filed the petition and this petition
08:39was not filed on emotional impulse. It was not filed on some hearsay I think. We have presented
08:44to the court to satisfy the court and that's what the court has also recorded in its interim order.
08:49The court has said we saw all the material that we have presented and the court is prima facie
08:54satisfied that there is a threat to the life and liberty of Konal Kamra and therefore they felt
08:59compelled to take it up yesterday itself and to also pass the interim order. So it is now before
09:04the Madras High Court and the High Court has seized of the matter. So I would personally think
09:10that there is a threat. Now in law there are two aspects to it. One is the personal life and
09:15liberty of Konal Kamra at the hands of the various political personalities who have threatened.
09:21Now what has the Bombay police done in terms of open and brazen threat to the life of Konal
09:28Kamra? The police is committed to the rule of law and to the constitution of India. The police is
09:37not committed to the ruling party. I think this is something that the police throughout India
09:41need to know. That their commitment is to the constitution of India. They take an oath
09:45on the constitution of India not on the political party which is ruling from time to time.
09:51So they are bound to take action and they are bound to be accountable for what have they done
09:55for the openly unveiled threats, brazen threats that we will cut him into pieces. We will attack
10:02him. We will darken his face. You come to Bombay and we will show you the way the Shiv Sena treats
10:09these people. They have not even tried to close the thing. They have not tried to in other places
10:15people put on masks and all. They have openly talked about it and these are MLAs, MPs, there
10:20are ruling party politicians, there is the head of the Shiv Sena youth wing. So when they have
10:25made such open threats which in the eye of law are offences, what has the police done? I think
10:30these are issues which are not related only to Bombay or to Konal Kamra in this case or to any
10:37one state. It's a question that is important for all citizens in this country to take on. That's
10:43the first part. Second part, Supreme Court has time and again said that a fundamental right of
10:49a person to criticise the ruling party. The fundamental principle in the Indian Constitution
10:55under which 19-1A, fundamental right of speech and expression has been given is the right to
11:02criticise and the right to ask for accountability from people in power. They can use different ways.
11:08They can talk about it directly or they can use comedy, they can use parody, they can use satire,
11:13they can use cartoon. Now these are different forms. Now obviously cartoons and satires and
11:19parodies are not to praise any particular person or praise anything. Now so long as the person
11:25uses parody to poke holes, to make fun of, to raise issues about anybody who is in a public sphere,
11:33I think it is protected by Article 19-1A. The first situation which said that people in public
11:39life have to have a thick skin. So it's called the doctrine of thick skin. A person in public life
11:45has to be open to the reality that people will question them and their sentiments cannot be so
11:50thin that they take umbrage to everything that is being given. So that's the first thing.
11:54The second thing that the Supreme Court has also said is that people are bound to question and
12:00ask accountability of people in power. Now when such things is done, the sensibility has to be
12:06judged not by the party caterer, not by the loyalties of the party caterer who may like or
12:12not like something said about their leader but by the standards of an ordinary citizen.
12:17So it cannot be in fact yesterday the Supreme Court of India has quashed a FIR filed in Gujarat
12:24against a congress member of parliament filed by another BJP politician from Gujarat on the ground
12:33that a FIR cannot be filed merely because somebody has talked about in a form that the ruling party
12:40person does not like. And there in fact the Supreme Court has very concretely upheld an earlier full
12:46bench ruling of the Bombay High Court itself where they said that the standards of proof,
12:52the standards of satisfaction is not the satisfaction of a party caterer or
12:56somebody who is loyal to a particular group but has to be of an ordinary person and therefore
13:01that person is talking about in terms of satire or comic form is something that has to be kept
13:07in mind. Point also to be kept in mind legally is that Kunal Kamra has not talked about or not
13:13named the person, the deputy CM has not named. Of course people can make their own comments about
13:18who he is meaning. I am saying he is well within the protection of his speech.
13:22The third part, nobody can threaten to abuse the law of the land and use criminal force
13:29against any other citizen. If they have agreements, they have already filed a FIR,
13:33let the police take a stand on it and let the due process of law unroll. Here to the contrary,
13:40the Shivasainiks and the people belonging to the ruling party have very clearly said
13:46we will do what we want. The law is different. For example, yesterday Friday,
13:50there was a news item which came and said one minister says our patience is running thin
13:55and it was a threat to the Bombay police saying that our patience is thin, now you better take
14:00action against Kunal Kamra or else we will then take the law into our hands. Now the point here
14:07is that they have not made an attempt to veil it, they have not made an attempt to cover it up,
14:12it is an open threat to the rule of law. When open threats are given, no action is taken.
14:17Vandalism of the continental hotel on the 23rd evening and 24th the BMC goes and demolishes
14:24some part of the same hotel. Now how do we understand these things? You give them
14:30police station bail, subsequently the magistrate gives bail in a context of vandalism where they
14:35have trespassed into the property of another people, threatened the people there and beat up
14:39and the person who led the beating of the vandalism says we did not go to break it up
14:45but the answer given by the owner of that particular hotel did not satisfy us and therefore
14:49we showed our emotion. You don't show your emotions by breaking the law, you don't show
14:55your emotions by vandalizing, that's a criminal act. But what has been the response of the Bombay
15:00police? I think these are issues which are serious issues which has to be taken out.
15:03See I think these are all rhetorical questions of politicians, of even ruling of ministers or
15:09other people there in a rhetorical fashion. I don't think we need to do, the law of the land
15:13is very clear. What Kunal Kamra has done, I have also seen many of these comments, there has been
15:18a very very serious, there is a note, there has been somebody who has come out like in a poem,
15:22that you are a runaway, you are a coward, these are all points of view of different sets of people.
15:28Kunal Kamra is well within his constitutional rights, within the context of his fundamental
15:34rights to seek justice. Now he has written a letter as early as 24th to the police saying that
15:42I am bound to follow, I respect the constitution of India, I respect due process in India and I
15:47will certainly appear before the police to answer for the charges against me. Not once has he said
15:53I will not come before the court. This was on 24th when these threats were not there. All that he
15:58said is because of prior commitments and I am out of Maharashtra, please give me time to come.
16:04There has been no response to that. On the 26th, he sends one more letter because in response to
16:10the reminder letter of the Bombay, of the car police, he once again reiterates, I am bound to
16:16respect the law of India because I respect the law of India. I will definitely come but between 24th
16:21and 26th, situation has changed. There are so many threats which have come out openly. Because of
16:26these threats, I feel very unsafe in coming to Bombay at this point in time. I fear for my
16:32personal life and safety. Now, to say this is well within his constitutional right. Of course,
16:37the political parties will say all types of things about that. I don't think any law-abiding
16:44citizen should necessarily take these things into consideration. So, yes, there is a serious threat
16:50to the life of Kunal Kamra and to the thing. His safety has to be protected and that's the
16:56responsibility of the Bombay police and the government of Maharashtra. The test of that
17:01is not after he has been beaten up or something has happened to him. The test of us has to be
17:06right at the beginning where they show that they respect the rule of law. They have to demonstrate
17:11the fact that as a citizen, he is bound to answer for the charges against him and he has not said
17:18he is not bound. That's a very important thing to point out to your viewers. Kunal Kamra is on
17:24record on the 24th and subsequently on the 27th on Thursday to say he is a law-abiding citizen and
17:31he will go before the legal processes and the police. He has never said once I will not go.
17:38So, in this context, I think we will have to accept the reality that there is a threat
17:46in the field if you have to go to Bombay. Now, all that the Madras High Court has said,
17:52this is only a transit interim bail because the Madras High Court is not looking into the merits
17:57of the charges against him. The Madras High Court is only looking at the fact as to whether
18:02under the law of the land, with what the Supreme Court has said in a case called the Indowi case,
18:07whether the Madras High Court would be satisfied that the threat posed to Kunal Kamra is sufficient
18:15for the Madras High Court to grant what is called interstate anticipatory bail to give him
18:22sufficient time to go to Bombay and use the legal remedies available to him in Bombay. That is all
18:29that the interim anticipatory bail or subsequently if the court is satisfied that they need to give
18:36interstate anticipatory bail, it all amounts to. Subsequently, he is on record to say,
18:43I will seek my legal remedies in the appropriate courts
18:47in Maharashtra because the FAR is registered in Maharashtra.