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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Ceasefire or not, India must pursue terrorists responsible for Pahalgam attack: Owaisi
Hyderabad, May 11 (PTI): With India and Pakistan agreeing to an immediate ceasefire, Owaisi said, truce or not, India must continue to pursue those behind the Pahalgam terror attack.
In a post on X, the Hyderabad MP said he wished Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the ceasefire rather than the President of a foreign country (US).
"#Ceasefire or no ceasefire we must pursue the terrorists responsible for #Pahalgam attack", he said adding as long as Pakistan uses its territory for terrorism against India, there can be no permanent peace.
Owaisi said he always stood by the government and the armed forces against external aggression and this will continue.
The AIMIM chief thanked the armed forces for their bravery and commendable skill.
He paid homage to Army jawan, M Murali Naik, ADDC Raj Kumar Thapa and prayed for all the civilians who were killed or injured during the conflict.
Owaisi expressed hope that the ceasefire would bring much-needed respite to people living in border areas.
He also urged Indians and political parties to reflect on the past two weeks. "India is strong when it is united; our enemies benefit when Indians fight Indians."
However, he said he had some questions and hoped the government would provide clarity on the matter.
"I wish our PM @narendramodi had announced the ceasefire rather than the President of a foreign country. We have always been opposed to third party intervention since Simla (1972). Why have we now accepted it? I hope the Kashmir issue will not be internationalised, as it is our internal matter", he said.
He sought to know why India was agreeing to hold talks on a neutral territory and sought clarity on the agenda of these discussions.
"Does the United States guarantee that Pakistan will not use its territory for terrorism?," he asked.
Owaisi questioned if the government succeeded in its objective of deterring Pakistan from carrying out future terror attacks. "Was our goal to get a Trump-brokered ceasefire or was it to bring Pakistan to such a position that it would not even dream of another terror attack?," he asked.
The AIMIM leader said India must persist with its effforts to have Pakistan placed on the FATF grey list.
