The Bombay High Court on Wednesday disposed of a public interest litigation (PIL) that sought to restrain authorities from initiating criminal action against individuals sharing or retweeting a video clip of comedian Kunal Kamra's stand-up act, which allegedly mocked Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice MS Karnik observed that the State had not taken any coercive steps against those sharing the content online.

The Court further noted that Kamra himself has been granted interim anticipatory bail by the Madras High Court, and his plea seeking quashing of the FIRs filed against him is currently under consideration before the Bombay High Court.

The PIL was filed by law student Harshvardhan Navnath Khandekar, who argued that Kamra’s performance falls under the ambit of free speech protected by Article 19 of the Constitution.

The controversy stems from Kamra’s recent stand-up show, Naya Bharat, during which he performed a parody song that referred to Deputy CM Shinde as a “gaddar” (traitor), in an apparent reference to Shinde’s political defection from Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena—an event that led to a split in the party and the emergence of the Shinde faction in alliance with the BJP.

Based on a complaint by Shiv Sena legislator Muraji Patel, an FIR was registered in Mumbai against Kamra under Sections 353(1)(b), 353(2), and 356(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), even though the comedian resides in Tamil Nadu. Kamra has challenged the FIRs in the Bombay High Court, where the matter remains pending.