A petitioner in the contempt of court case against far-left stand-up ‘comedian’ Kunal Kamra case has filed a rejoinder to the Supreme Court stating that the affidavit filed by Kunal Kamra in the Supreme Court showed his “hubris”, “arrogance”, “ignorance” and “egotism” and “malevolent attitude”.
According to reports, law student Shrirang Katneshwarkar, one of the petitioners in the case, has filed his response to the Supreme Court saying that alleged comedian Kunal Kamra, who has 1.7 million followers, can influence the minds of at least some of them to shake public faith in the judiciary through his tweets.
Kunal Kamra has 1.7 Million Followers; his tweets can influence minds of at least some of them to shake public faith in judiciary; “Keyboard Warriors” like him can inculcate “poisonous ideas” in the minds of people – says the rejoinder.#KunalKamra #SupremeCourt #ContemptOfCourt pic.twitter.com/5LjmJT5DWU
— Live Law (@LiveLawIndia) March 13, 2021
In his rejoinder, the petitioner said that ‘keyboard warriors’ like Kunal Kamra can inculcate “poisonous ideas” in people’s minds. The rejoinder also added that Kunal Kamra’s “scandalous tweets” cannot be labelled as “jokes” as they undermine the dignity of the Court and shake the confidence which common people have about the judicial system.
“The affidavit filed by Kunal Kamra tried to teach the Supreme Court of its duties, and he should not justify his “scandalous tweets” as jokes/satire/comedy,” the petitioner said.
Further, the petitioner pointed out that Kunal Kamra, by suggesting that the contempt petitioner lacks a “sense of humour”, has shown acrimony in his mind. He should introspect and change his “malevolent attitude”, the rejoinder filed by the petitioner in the Supreme Court said.
The rejoinder by the petitioner came four weeks after the Supreme Court had adjourned the case following Kunal Kamra’s response to the contempt case initiated against him for making derogatory comments against the judiciary.
On February 22, a bench comprising Justices Ashok Bhushan and RS Reddy had deferred the matter after petitioners had sought an adjournment for filing a rejoinder to the reply filed by Kamra.
In his reply, Kamra had defended his derogatory tweets against the judiciary, saying India would be reduced to a “country of incarcerated artists and flourishing lapdogs” if powerful people and institutions show an inability to “tolerate rebuke or criticism”. Facing contempt proceedings, Kunal Kamra had said that there was a growing culture of intolerance where taking offence is seen as a fundamental right and has been elevated to the status of a “much loved national indoor sport”.
Contempt case against Kunal Kamra
On December 18 last year, the top court issued a show-cause notice to alleged comedian Kunal Kamra for his alleged scandalous tweets against the judiciary.
The notice had come after Attorney General K K Venugopal had granted consent for initiation of criminal contempt proceedings against Kamra, saying the comedian’s tweets were in “bad taste”, and it was a time that people understand that attacking the judiciary brazenly would attract punishment.
AG KK Venugopal, granting his consent to initiate proceedings against Kamra said the tweets by Kamra, where he referred to the Supreme Court of India as Supreme Joke India, and said that humour has left the SC long ago, “were highly objectionable.”
A Mumbai based lawyer had sought the Attorney General’s permission to initiate contempt proceedings against Kunal Kamra for his tweets against the Supreme Court, after apex court had granted bail to Arnab Goswami.
