“Not opinions but Propaganda”: Lawyer writes to CJI Ramana over Kunal Kamra’s recent disparaging remarks about Supreme Court

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A letter has been written by Advocate Ashutosh J Dubey to the Chief Justice of India to initiate criminal contempt against Stand up comedian Kunal Kamra for the alleged disparaging remarks against the Supreme Court in his new video titled "BE LIKE".

Dubey in his letter states that Kamra has openly mocked and disrespected the Supreme Court while making disparaging remarks against the apex court. The letter mentioned that Kamra claimed that, "he has more respect for a food court of a shopping mall that the top court."

Dubey further alleged that Kamra has called the Supreme Court a "Brahmin Baniya" affairs and doesn't represent different cultures. "The aforementioned events and the speeches delivered during the same are not mere opinions instead it spreads a propaganda of disrespecting the apex court, in crux the entire judicial system of India," Dubey added.

In addition to this, Dubey stated that "in the given circumstances, this court has to come for its own rescue and with this very hope and with great anticipation have addressed this letter to your Lordship."

The letter has requested the CJI NV Ramana to take suo-moto cognizance of the act committed by Kunal Kamra which are not a mere expressions of opinion but are driven by ill-intended propaganda to destruct and cause disbelief in minds of people about the Judicial system.

It may also be noted that there is already a contempt of court matter pending against Kamra for his tweets against the Supreme Court of India.

The following were the four tweets :

1. The Supreme Court of this country is the most Supreme joke of this country...

2 .The pace at which the Supreme Court operates in matters of “National Interests” it’s time we replace Mahatma Gandhi’s photo with Harish Salve’s photo...

3. DY Chandrachud is a flight attendant serving champagne to first class passengers after they’re fast tracked through, while commoners don’t know if they’ll ever be boarded or seated, let alone served.

4. All lawyers with a spine must stop the use of the prefix “Hon’ble” while referring to the Supreme Court or its judges. Honour has left the building long back...

Along with the tweets, Kamra posted a morphed saffron-colored image of the Supreme Court building with a BJP flag hoisted in the Court's foyer.

Whereas, in response to these proceedings Kamra in its affidavit before the apex court had said, "Jokes are based on a comedian’s perception, which they use to make the audience share that perception laugh. These jokes are not reality and don’t claim to be so. Most people do not react to jokes that don’t make them laugh; they ignore them like our political leaders ignore their critics. That is where the life of a joke must end. The truth about the attention economy is that the more attention one gives to criticism or ridicule, the more credible it appears. 

Through my work, I attempt to abide by the comedy’s tenet of comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comfortable. For instance, take the joke, ‘Behind every successful Indian businessman, there is a nationalized bank.’ The humor attempts to blunt the grimness of the situation and offers a measure of comfort to the afflicted, including the families of citizens who find themselves unable to withdraw their hard-earned money from their bank accounts. Jokes like these at best make the comfortable squirm in their plush chair, even as they sit securely in the knowledge that a joke cannot make the heavens fall.

Kamra concluded with the following words: 

Lastly, I may disagree with many decisions by many courts in many matters, but I promise this Bench that I will respect any decision that comes my way with a broad smile. I will not vilify this Bench or the Supreme Court in the matter specifically because that would be contempt of court.