A case for contempt? Kunal Kamra, the stand-up comedian taking on India’s Supreme Court

Kamra tells Shweta Sharma about being at the centre of a clash between India’s old-fashioned institutions and a lively, unapologetic new media

Kamra faces a potential jail term if he is found guilty of contempt of court (Screengrab/YouTube)

Indian stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra didn’t crack jokes about the country’s Supreme Court in order to get laughs. It was “sheer frustration” that drove him to post four tweets lambasting the court to his 1.7 million followers, he says. But it is  a decision that has now landed him with contempt charges.

At a hearing last week, the court decided to proceed with the charges against Kamra, even as it faces a huge backlog that ran into millions of cases even before the inevitable delays caused by the months-long coronavirus lockdown.

Speaking to The Independent, the Mumbai-based comedian says he branded the highest court in the land the “Supreme Joke” because he was outraged by its decision to fast track a bail hearing for the firebrand right-wing TV anchor Arnab Goswami.