Bombay High Court on Friday gave relief to comedian Kunal Kamra as it ordered Mumbai Police to not arrest Kamra in the FIR lodged against him for his "satire video" and "gaddar" (traitor) comment against Maharashtra's Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde last month, LiveLaw reported.
The court ordered agencies to continue the probe but to abstain from arrest. The controversial joke implied that Shinde is a turncoat.
"If the investigating agency want to record statements, the same can be recorded in Chennai with the help of local police," the division bench comprising Justices Sarang Kotwal and Shriram Modaksaid.
The bench said if during pendency of the petition, the chargesheet is filed, the concerned court should not take cognizance of the same.
A bench on April 16 ordered interim protection from arrest to Kamra, while also reserving judgment in his plea.
Kamra has sought to quash the FIR registered against him after a controversy that escalated last month. In his YouTube video ‘Naya Bharat’, Kamra took a jibe at Shinde, which offended his party members and workers, unleashing a barrage of violent and fatal threats against Kamra.
The Madras High Court granted him interim anticipatory bail on March 29 which was extended first till April 7, then till April 17. Kamra resides in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Three separate case have been filed against the comedian in Mumbai's Khar Police Station.
