13 November,2020 02:52 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Comedian Kunal Kamra. Pic/Kunal Kamra Instagram
Facing contempt charges for criticizing the Supreme Court over granting bail to Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami, comedian Kunal Kamra on Friday said that he would neither retract his posts nor apologise for them.
"I don't intend to retract my tweets or apologise for them. I believe they speak for themselves," Kamra tweeted.
He added, "The Supreme Court of India hasn't yet declared my tweets anything as of now but if an when they do I hope they can have a small laugh before declaring them Contempt of Court."
Posting his statement on Twitter, the Mumbai-based comedian wrote, "No lawyers, no apology, no fine, no waste of space".
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On Thursday, Attorney General KK Venugopal granted consent to initiate contempt proceedings against Kamra for his tweets criticising the Supreme Court for granting interim bail to Arnab Goswami.
Also Read: Contempt Proceedings Against Comedian Kunal Kamra For Criticizing SC Over Arnab Goswami's Bail
A Mumbai-based advocate Rizwan Siddiquee had claimed that Kamra's comments were contemptuous for their allegedly "salacious and unruly" nature. He sought Attorney General's consent to initiate criminal contempt of court proceedings against the comedian.
Giving consent for contempt proceedings, the Attorney General had said, "The other tweets are also highly objectionable, and it would perhaps be for the court to decide the question as to whether these tweets also would constitute criminal contempt of the Supreme Court of India."
The consent letter further stated, "I find that today people believe that they can boldly and brazenly condemn the Supreme Court of India and its judges by exercising what they believe as their freedom of speech."
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On Wednesday, Arnab Goswami was released from Taloja Jail around 8.30 pm after the Supreme Court granted him interim relief in the 2018 abetment of suicide case.
The Republic TV head was arrested on November 4 in connection with the double-suicide case of architect Anvay Naik and his mother Kumud Naik on May 5, 2018 for alleged non-payment of his dues by Goswami, and two other creditors, Feroze Shaikh and Nitesh Sarda.
Naik's widow Akshata Naik and their daughter Adnya Naik, have filed a separate plea seeking a reinvestigation into the case or transferring it to an independent agency for probe.
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