Stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra has approached the Bombay high court, seeking to quash an FIR lodged against him by the city police for allegedly passing a "traitor" jibe at Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
His counsel Navroz Seervai mentioned the petition before a bench of Justices Sarang Kotwal and S M Modak on Monday, seeking urgent hearing.
Seervai informed the bench that Kamra has got interim relief from the Madras High Court till Monday, but despite that the Mumbai police keep issuing him summons to appear before them.
The bench said it would hear the plea on Tuesday.
Kamra, in his plea filed on April 5, claimed the complaints against him were violative of his fundamental rights of the freedom of speech and expression, right to practice any profession and business and right to life and liberty guaranteed under the Constitution of India.
Last month, the comedian got interim transit anticipatory bail from the Madras High Court till April 7 in the case against him. He is a permanent resident of Tamil Nadu.
The hearing of this petition in the Madras HC is expected on Monday.
The comedian has failed to appear before the Mumbai police for questioning despite three summons issued to him.
During a show, Kamra had taunted Shinde, without taking his name, using a modified version of a Hindi song from the film Dil To Pagal Hai where he called him a gaddar (traitor).
The comedian went on to joke about how Shinde rebelled against Uddhav Thackeray.
Following a complaint by Shiv Sena MLA Murji Patel, the Khar police in Mumbai had registered the FIR against Kamra under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections 353(1)(b) (statements conducing to public mischief) and 356(2) (defamation).
Three FIRs registered against the comedian at Nashik Rural, Jalgaon and Nashik (Nandgaon) have also been transferred to the Khar police.
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