From EVMs To Contempt Of Court: 10 Controversies Of Comedian Kunal Kamra

Comedian Kunal Kamra's Mumbai event was disrupted by Shiv Sena leaders on Sunday after he made jokes that were seen as directed at their party chief and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. Shiv Sena workers vandalised Hotel Unicontinental in Mumbai's Khar area where Mr Kamra's show with 'gaddar' (traitor) jibe at Deputy CM Eknath Shinde was filmed.

Mr Kamra has been involved in several controversies, primarily related to his outspoken commentary on political and judicial matters. Here's an overview based on publicly available information:

Contempt Of Court Case

The Supreme Court initiated contempt proceedings against Mr Kamra due to a series of tweets criticising the judiciary following the court's decision to grant bail to journalist Arnab Goswami. He had mocked former Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud.

Mr Kamra had taken to Twitter soon after Mr Goswami was released on interim bail in an abetment to suicide case. In his first post on X (then known as Twitter), he called the Supreme Court "Supreme Joke of the country". This was followed up by a morphed photo that showed the Supreme Court in saffron with a BJP flag flying over it. He made scathing remarks attacking former Chief Justice Chandrachud by comparing him to a flight attendant serving champagne to first-class passengers.

In December 2020, the Supreme Court issued a show cause notice to Mr Kamra over his tweets. He was asked to explain why action should not be taken against him for contempt of court. Mr Kamra publicly said he won't apologise for his tweets. In his official response to the Supreme Court, he defended his right to free speech and refused to retract his statements.

'Brahmin-Baniya' Remark On Supreme Court

In May 2020, a petition was filed in the Supreme Court against Mr Kamra for his remark that the Supreme Court was a "Brahmin-Baniya" affair in his show 'Be Like'. The petition was filed as an intervention application in an already pending contempt of court case against Mr Kamra. Attorney-General KK Venugopal had approved a contempt proceeding against Mr Kamra for allegedly disparaging the judiciary and judges through his social media posts.

Airport Incident

Mr Kamra confronted Mr Goswami during a flight, leading to a ban from major airlines like IndiGo, Air India, GoAir and SpiceJet for six months. While not a formal legal case, this incident sparked widespread discussion.

Mr Kamra harassed and heckled Mr Goswami on a January 2020 trip from Mumbai to Lucknow. Mr Kamra then turned to Twitter to share a clip of himself heckling the journalist. He also tweeted he had a "monologue" with Mr Goswami on his journalism. He called Mr Goswami a "coward", among other things. He closed the tweet with the words "f*** Arnab", and said Mr Goswami failed to respond and labelled him mentally insane.

Attacks On PM Narendra Modi Over Covid

In 2021, Mr Kamra made serious allegations on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's handling of the COVID-19 crisis in an opinion video. He accused PM Modi of putting political vanity before common sense and opening the door to a devastating resurgence of coronavirus infections. Mr Kamra said had PM Modi and other political leaders responded quickly and effectively, a lot of lives and heartache would have been spared.

Child's 'Morphed' Video Row

In May 2020, Mr Kamra landed in a controversy for sharing an edited video of a seven-year-old boy singing for PM Modi during his visit to Germany. The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) sought action against the comedian for posting a "doctored" video of a boy singing a patriotic song in front of PM Modi. The NCPCR also sought immediate removal of the video.

Reacting, Mr Kamra said the video was in the public domain and posted by a news organisation. "The joke is not on your son, while you enjoy your son sing for his motherland to the most popular son, there are songs that he should listen to from people of his country also," Mr Kamra posted. In another post, he said the NCPCR sought action against him for posting a "meme".

'Kashmir Files' Controversy

In 2022, lawyer Chandni Preeti Vijaykumar Shah wrote to Attorney General KK Venugopal seeking to initiate criminal proceedings against the comedian under the State Emblem of India (Prohibition of Improper Use) Act, 2005. Mr Kamra insulted India's national emblem by using it in a morphed certificate that shamed the agony of the Kashmiri Pandit genocide and blatantly mocked the film 'The Kashmir Files', the lawyer said.

Two lawyers - Ashutosh Dubey and Vineet Jindal - in the same month also wrote to Mr Venugopal requesting permission to start contempt proceedings against the stand-up comedian for vilifying and defaming the Indian judiciary in his recent comedy video.

Legal Notice From VHP Over Alleged Insult To Hindu Deities

Mr Kamra's show in Gurugram was cancelled by the club that was to host it after some right-wing organisations threatened protests over his jokes allegedly "insulting Hindu gods". The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) sent Mr Kamra a legal notice, accusing him of insulting Hindu gods in his comedy shows. They demanded an apology and warned of legal action.

In September 2022, Mr Kamra wrote to the VHP asking it to denounce Mahatma Gandhi's assassin Nathuram Godse to prove that the outfit is pro-Hindu and anti-terrorism. He also asked them to show proof that he disrespected the Hindu religion. 

Alleged Harassment Of Women Comedians

In a blog which went viral on social media in 2020, a woman named Anubha Sinha alleged comedians Kunal Kamra and #MeToo accused Utsav Chakraborty made fake X IDs to harass fellow women comedians.

Ms Sinha said she overheard Mr Kamra say that Mr Chakraborty and himself would make fake accounts on X to harass women standup comedians. Ms Sinha said she did not write about it earlier, but after Mr Kamra heckled the Republic TV Editor-in-Chief on an Indigo flight, she decided to write about it.

Kunal Kamra's Challenge To IT rules

In April 2023, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology issued the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Amendment Rules, 2023 (IT Rules 2023). These rules direct social media intermediaries (such as Facebook, Twitter, etc) to remove any news related to the "business of the central government" that is deemed "fake, false, or misleading" by a fact-checking unit established by the Union government.

Mr Kamra challenged the rules in the Bombay High Court. He said the formation of a fact-check unit is in conflict with Section 79 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 (IT Act) which is a safe harbour provision for social media intermediaries. It protects them from liability for user-generated content. The Supreme Court will decide if a stay on the notification of a government fact check unit under the IT Rules, 2023 can be granted.

Criticism Of Election Commission And EVMs

Mr Kamra mocked the Election Commission and use of EVMs (electronic voting machines) in various posts and videos. This led to complaints from political groups, although no legal action was officially confirmed.