A plea against stand up comedian Kunal Kamra has been filed by a group of lawyers and students in the Supreme Court after the Attorney General KK Venugopal gave his consent to initiate contempt proceedings against him for scandalizing the court through tweets. The Stand-up comedian, who has millions of followers on Twitter, criticized the Supreme Court by drawing a parallel between Justice DY Chadrachud and a flight attendant.
What is he saying now?
Reacting to the news about contempt proceeding against him, the stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra on November 13, 2020, said he is ready to face the contempt proceedings against him, and his views have not changed.
“No lawyer, no apology, no waste of space,” he said in his tweet.
Justifying his tweets, he said that his views aren’t changed, and the silence of the Supreme Court on other issues of personal liberties needs to be highlighted.
“I don’t intend to retract my tweet or apologize for them. I believe they speak for themselves,” he added.
Who are behind this contempt plea against him?
After Attorney General KK Venugopal gave his consent, a group of lawyers and students have filed a contempt plea against the stand-up comedian Kamra in the Supreme Court. In the plea, Kamra is alleged to have scandalized the court through his tweets. The petitioners, who have filed a contempt plea against Kamra, include law student Shrirang Katneshwarkar, Nitika Duhan, and lawyers Amey Abhay Sirsikar, advocate Abhishek Sharan Raskar, and Satyendra Vinayak Muley.
“The alleged contemnor (Kamra) has the following of 1.7 million people. The scandalous tweets of the alleged contemnor were seen by his followers and many of them retweeted the same”, said the plea. The petitioners cited section 2 (c) (i) of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, and said that this section is explicit, and the tweets show comedian Kamra allegedly committed contempt of the court.
In their contempt plea, the petitioners allege that the followers of Kamra must have read the tweets. The petitioners have also said in their plea that many have retweeted his tweet. The petitioners, in contempt plea, have alleged that Kamra was fully aware of his action.
“When some persons tried to make the alleged contemnor aware of the contempt of this court, the alleged contemnor was rude, arrogant, and unapologetic. The conduct of the alleged contemnor shows that he has no regard for this court”, said the plea. After observing his tweets, the Attorney General, KK Venugopal, said that the tweets are not only in bad taste but clearly cross the line between humor and contempt of the court.
“The conduct of the alleged contemnor is so harsh that the alleged contemnor does not deserve any sympathy at the hands of this court even in case of tendering an apology. Citizens of this country strongly believe that the people like the alleged contemnor should not be spared at any cost”, said the plea seeking action against Kamra. Responding to the letters of the petitioners, the AG had said that it is time for people to understand their unjustifiable attack on the Supreme Court will attract punishment.
What exactly did he say in his tweets?
Coming down on a bench of two judges that heard Arnab Goswami’s bail plea and granted him interim bail, Karma drew a parallel between Justice DY Chnadrachud and a flight attendant to criticize the court.
“DY Chandrachud is a flight attendant serving champagne to first-class passengers after they’re fast-tracked, while commoners don’t know if they’ll ever be boarded or seated, let me alone served,” he said in his tweet.
The bench, which heard the bail request of Republic TV Editor-in-Chief and ordered his release, was headed by Justice DY Chandrachud.
