On Friday, the Bombay High Court ruled that the police investigation into comedian Kunal Kamra's remarks about Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde can continue, but Kamra will not be arrested. A bench of Justices Sarang Kotwal and S.M. Modak accepted Kamra's petition to dismiss the first information report (FIR) filed against him at Khar police station for allegedly calling Shinde a "traitor" during a stand-up comedy performance. This means Kamra's petition will be examined in detail later. As an interim measure, the court ruled that Kamra should not be arrested while the petition is pending.

"Investigation can continue. The petitioner (Kamra) shall not be arrested during the pendency of the petition," as per the court.

The court stated that if the police wished to take Kamra's statement, they should do so in Chennai, where he currently lives, after offering him earlier notice. In his plea, Kamra mentioned that he resides in Tamil Nadu and was fearful of travelling to Maharashtra due to the death threats he had been receiving following the show.

"If during the pendency of the petition, a chargesheet is filed in the case by the police, the concerned court shall not proceed with the same," ordered the court.

Last week, the court granted comedian Kamra interim protection from arrest while it reserved its decision on his plea. Kamra requests the cancellation of an FIR filed against him for allegedly producing defamatory comments about Shinde. In his petition, the comedian argued that even if the accusations were true, they do not amount to a crime. He also asked the High Court to shield him from harsh actions, including arrest, the seizure of his electronic devices, and scrutinising his financial transactions and accounts.

Kamra had informed the court that he had agreed to appear for questioning through videoconferencing before the Mumbai police in connection with the case. He mentioned that he had been receiving death threats ever since the FIR was filed. The FIR was lodged at Khar police station against the stand-up comedian for allegedly calling Shinde a "gaddar" (traitor) during a performance in Mumbai. Shiv Sena party workers who support Shinde also damaged the studio where the show was filmed.

During the show, Kamra performed a parody of a song from the movie "Dil To Pagal Hai," where he used the word "gaddar." He also joked about how Shinde rebelled against Uddhav Thackeray, leading to the split of Shiv Sena in 2022.