'SC Judges Powerful But Enjoy No Protection From Jokes': Comic Kunal Kamra On Contempt Notice

Stand up comedian Kunal Kamra facing contempt of court charges for tweets against judges and judiciary told Supreme Court that his ¡°tweets were not published with intention of diminishing people¡¯s faith in the highest court of our democracy¡±.

He said ¡°the suggestion that my tweets could shake the foundations of the most powerful court in the world is an over-estimation of my abilities¡±.

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Filed an affidavit in response to notice

In an affidavit filed in response to the notice issued by the top court, Kamra said ¡°just as the Supreme Court values the faith the public places in it (and seeks to protect it by the exercise of its criminal contempt jurisdiction), it should also trust the public not to form its opinions of the Court on the basis of a few jokes on Twitter¡±. He added that ¡°the public¡¯s faith in the judiciary is founded on the institution¡¯s own actions and not on any criticism or commentary about it¡±.

"There is no defence needed for jokes and it is based on the comedian's perception," Kamra who did not offer an apology said in his response, said that "jokes are not reality and do not claim to be so".

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"Intolerance has elevated to national indoor sport"

Kamra said, ¡°growing culture of intolerance in this country, where taking offence is seen as a fundamental right and has been elevated to the status of a much loved national indoor sport¡±.

Citing the fellow stand up comedy artist Munawar Farooqui, he said ¡°we are witnessing an assault on the freedom of speech and expression with comedians like Munawar Farooqui being jailed for jokes that they have not even made, and school students being interrogated for sedition.

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Kamra said that he however believes that ¡°constitutional offices ¡ª including judicial offices ¨C know no protection from jokes¡± and added that ¡°I do not believe that any high authority, including judges, would find themselves unable to discharge their duties only on account of being the subject of satire or comedy¡±.

"More attention to joke, more credible it appears"

"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 to be." he added.

"I disagree with many decisions of many courts but promise this bench that I will respect any decision with a broad smile and will not vilify this bench or the Supreme Court in this matter because that would actually (amount to) contempt of court."

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"I do not believe any authority including judges would find themselves unable to discharge their duties only on account of being subject of satire or comedy," the comedian said.

Reason of contempt notice

Kamra faces contempt cases over his tweets allegedly attacking the Supreme Court for granting TV anchor Arnab Goswami bail after his arrest in an abetment to suicide case. Eight people, mostly lawyers, have filed cases against him.

Last month, the Supreme Court gave separate contempt notice to Kamra and asked him to respond in six weeks. The court, however, exempted them from personal appearances. It asked them to explain why contempt actions should not be taken against them for "scandalising the judiciary".

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KK Venugopal, the government's top law, had said that Mr Kamra's tweets were "in bad taste" and "crossed the line between humour and contempt".