A rejoinder affidavit submitted by a law student who filed a contempt case against comedian Kunal Kamra, states that Kamra’s affidavit displays his lack of remorse and an attempt to justify his ‘scandalous’ tweets, reported LiveLaw.
The petitioner Shrirang Katneshwarkar, through his affidavit uploaded by LiveLaw, states that Kamra’s tweets were obnoxious and can influence the minds of his 1.7 million followers creating a ‘deadly chain reaction’.
Calling Kamra’s submissions a “feeble attempt to brand his scandalous tweets as jokes”, he has further stated that Kamra had no business to suggest that the public’s faith in the Judiciary is founded on the Institution’s own actions.
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
Kamra’s affidavit before the top court had contended that the language and style he adopted for his tweets were not intended to insult the judges, and the Supreme Court but to prompt people’s attention to some of the issues that are relevant to our democracy.
But the rejoinder affidavit filed by the law student has argued that Kunal Kamra should not “justify his scandalous tweets as jokes/satire/comedy” and that he has depicted his “air of haughtiness” by referring to his alleged comedic enterprise. He alleges Kamra to have been puffed up with conceit.
As per a LiveLaw report, the rejoinder affidavit further states, “A statement in Paragraph number 9, ‘I would be happy to take advice on comedy from the Petitioners, but that requires that they have a sense of humour’, shows acrimony in the mind of the alleged contemnor. Probably, the alleged contemnor by showing his rancorous attitude has forgotten that it was the Attorney General who has given consent to initiate this contempt proceedings by exercising his statutory powers. Instead of that the alleged contemnor should introspect and try to change his malevolent attitude.”
The affidavit has also responded to Kamra’s statement, “If this Court believes I have crossed a line and wants to shut down my internet indefinitely, then I too will write Happy Independence Day post cards every 15th August just like my Kashmiri friends.” Katneshwarkar’s rejoinder reads, “This shows egotism of the alleged contemnor who probably believes that he can commit contempt of this Hon’ble Court with impunity.”
The law student’s rejoinder also accused the comedian of being arrogant and that his affidavit before the court “shows the scornful attitude of the alleged contemnor who appears to be open to vilification of this Hon’ble Court in other matters.”
In January, Kunal Kamra had responded to the contempt notice issued against him by the top court. He had submitted that, “The suggestion that my tweets could shake the foundations of the most powerful court in the world is an over-estimation of my abilities. 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 own opinions of the court on the basis of few jokes on Twitter. The public’s faith in the judiciary is founded on the institution’s own actions, and not on any criticism or commentary about it.”
The matter was adjourned for two weeks for the petitioner to file his reply to Kunal Kamra’s affidavit.
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Public’s faith in judiciary is founded on its own actions, not criticism: Kunal Kamra to SC
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