Comedian Kunal Kamra sparked controversy after sharing a photograph on social media in which he appeared wearing a T-shirt that allegedly mocked the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). The post drew criticism from the senior BJP leaders in Maharashtra, who warned of possible police action against the comedian for posting what they termed ‘objectional’ content. (Image: Instagram)
However, this is far from his first brush with controversy. In view of the latest incident, here’s a look at some of the disputes involving the comedian in the past. (Image: Instagram)
Contempt Of Court Case: The Supreme Court initiated a contempt proceedings against Kamra due to series of tweet criticising the judiciary following the court’s move to grant bail to journalist Arnab Goswami. The comedian had mocked former Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud. In December 2020, the top court issued a show cause notice to him over his tweets. In his official response to the court, he defended his right to free speech and refused to retract his statements. (Image: Instagram)
Brahmin-Baniya Remark On Supreme Court: In May 2020, a petition was filed in the top court for his remark that the Supreme Court was a “Brahmin-Baniya” affair in his show ‘Be Like’. Attorney-General KK Venugopal had approved a contempt proceeding against Kamra for allegedly disparaging the judiciary and judges through his social media posts. (Image: Instagram)
Airport Incident With Arnab Goswami: Kunal Kamra confront Arnab Goswami during a flight, leading to a ban from major airlines like IndiGo, Air India, GoAir and SpiceJet for six months. However, this was not a formal legal case. (Image: Instagram)
Attacks On Pm Modi Over Covid: In 2021, the comedian made serious allegation on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s handling of the COVID-19 crisis in an opinion video. He accused the Prime Minister of putting political vanity before common sense and opening the door to a devastating resurgence of coronavirus infections. (Image: Instagram)
Kashmir Files Controversy: In 2022, lawyer Chandni Preeti Vijaykumar Shah wrote to Attorney General K.K. Venugopal seeking criminal action against Kunal Kamra under the State Emblem Act, alleging he used a morphed national emblem to mock the Kashmiri Pandit genocide and the film The Kashmir Files. That same month, lawyers Ashutosh Dubey and Vineet Jindal also sought consent to initiate contempt proceedings, accusing Kamra of vilifying the judiciary in a recent comedy video. (Image: Instagram)
Alleged Harassment Of Women Comedian: In a 2020 viral blog, Anubha Sinha alleged that Kunal Kamra and Utsav Chakraborty created fake X accounts to harass women comedians. (Image: Instagram)
Kamra’s Challenge to IT Rules: The comedian challenged the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Amendment Rules, 2023 (IT Rules 2023) 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, 200 (IT Act) which is a safe harbour provision for social media intermediaries. (Image: Instagram)
Criticism Of Election Commission And EVMs: Kunal Kamra mocked the Election Commission and the 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. (Image: Instagram)
