Shinde jibe: HC reserves order on Kamra plea against FIR, says comedian not be arrested till then
Mumbai, Apr 16 (PTI): The Bombay High Court on Wednesday reserved its order on comedian Kunal Kamra's plea seeking quashing of an FIR filed against him for allegedly making defamatory remarks against Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, and said he need not be arrested till then.
A division bench of Justices S Kotwal and S Modak, after hearing arguments from both sides, reserved its order on the matter.
The court asked police not to arrest the comedian till the order is passed in the matter.
An FIR has been registered at the Khar police station in suburban Mumbai against Kamra for indirectly passing a "traitor" jibe at Shinde during a comedy show in the metropolis.
The 36-year-old stand-up comic has moved the HC against the FIR filed on a complaint of a Shiv Sena MLA. He faces complaints at other police stations also.
Kamra, in his plea, has claimed the complaints against him were violative of his fundamental rights of freedom of speech and expression, right to practice any profession and business and right to life and liberty guaranteed under the Constitution.
Kamra, a resident of Tamil Nadu, last month got interim transit anticipatory bail from the Madras High Court in the case.
The comedian has failed to appear before the Mumbai police for questioning despite three summonses issued to him.
During the show, Kamra had taunted Shinde, without taking his name, using a modified version of a Hindi song from the 1997 film "Dil To Pagal Hai" where he called him a "gaddar" (traitor).
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Heavy rain, hailstorms likely to lash Uttarakhand on Tuesday; IMD issues warning
Dehradun/Pithoragarh (PTI): The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a warning for heavy rain and hailstorms across several districts of Uttarakhand on Tuesday, as temperatures remained markedly below normal in the region.
Heavy rainfall is likely at isolated places in Dehradun, Haridwar, Tehri, Pauri, Nainital, Champawat, and Udham Singh Nagar districts. Most places across all districts are expected to receive light to moderate rain or thunderstorms, while higher reaches are likely to witness snowfall, officials said on Monday.
The weather department warned of thunderstorms accompanied by lightning, hail and intense spells of rain in six districts, including Dehradun and Nainital. Gusty winds with speeds reaching 40-50 kmph are also expected at isolated locations in these areas and other hilly districts.
In the state capital, Dehradun, the sky is forecast to remain partly cloudy with light rain and thunderstorms accompanied by gusty winds of 30-40 kmph.
The maximum and minimum temperatures in the city are expected to hover around 31 degrees Celsius and 19 degrees Celsius, respectively.
Maximum temperatures during the past 24 hours remained markedly below normal in the hills and appreciably below normal in the plains. While no significant change in temperature is expected over the next 2-3 days, the IMD predicts a rise of 3-5 degrees Celsius during the subsequent 3-4 days.
Rainfall was recorded in several areas after 8.30 am today, with Ramnagar receiving 31.5 mm and Nainital recording 26.5 mm. Other areas, including Pithoragarh, Khatima and Champawat, also reported moderate precipitation.
Authorities have stopped a batch of 36 Adi Kailash pilgrims at the Dharchula base camp and placed the high-altitude yatra route on high alert following heavy rains and hailstorms in the district on Monday.
Dharchula SDM Ashish Joshi said the pilgrimage was halted due to adverse weather conditions. The issuance of new inner-line passes has been suspended until the weather normalises.
With 1,700 passes issued so far, pilgrims already at higher camps are being monitored for safety, the official added.
