‘Comedian’ Kunal Kamra is in hot water after his latest stand-up act took aim at Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. On Saturday, three separate cases were lodged against him at Khar police station in west Mumbai, escalating the legal troubles surrounding his performance.
According to Mumbai Police, one complaint came from the Mayor of Jalgaon city, while the other two were filed by a Nashik-based hotelier and a businessman.
Meanwhile, Khar police have summoned Kamra twice for questioning, but the comedian has yet to appear—further intensifying the controversy.
Despite the legal storm, Kamra found some respite on Friday when the Madras High Court granted him interim anticipatory bail until April 7. Justice Sunder Mohan issued the order with specific conditions, offering Kamra a temporary shield from arrest. Kamra, who projected self-righteousness in a statement claiming he won’t apologise, finds himself at the centre of a raging political and legal whirlwind.
Back in Mumbai, authorities have now issued a third summons, demanding Kamra’s presence at Khar police station on March 31 for further questioning. This follows a case filed by Shiv Sena MLA Murji Patel, with Kamra previously ignoring the first two summons.
Kamra’s latest stand-up performance—uploaded to YouTube and Instagram—didn’t provoke laughter; it touched off outrage and instigated vandalism in Mumbai. Supporters of Eknath Shinde were furious, with some even vandalising the Mumbai venue where the act was filmed. In a dramatic escalation, they issued threats, warning Kamra that he would not be allowed to “walk freely.”
In his set, Kamra took a witty swipe at Maharashtra’s fractured political landscape, referencing the splintering of the Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
