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A Varanasi Court on Thursday held that since contempt proceedings were already ongoing against Kamra for his tweet wherein he changed the Indian flag hoisted at Supreme Court of India building with the Bharatiya Janata Party flag, there was no purpose in conducting trial in the district court against him.

Additional District Judge/Fast Track Court, Varanasi Aradhana Kushwaha rejected the revision plea filed by a local Lawyer Saurabh Tiwari upholding a magistrate's order dismissing a criminal complaint against comedian Kunal Kamra for his tweet, which allegedly insulted the Indian flag.

The ADJ observed in her order that the decision arrived at by the Judicial Magistrate was in conformity with jurisdictional principles of law.

A complaint had been filed against Kamra for his tweeted having defaced picture of the Supreme Court . In the present plea, the petitioner had alleged that Kamra’s act not only caused insult, disrepute and contempt to the flag but hurt the feeling of people of the country.

However, ADJ said that the decision of the court below was also proper in view of the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code and the IT Act.

Furthermore, ADJ Court also asked the petitioner to present an application before the Supreme Court in case he wishes to indulge himself as a party in the contempt proceedings before the Apex Court.

Earlier, in December 2020, the Court of Judicial Magistrate Diwakar Kumar had dismissed the complaint against Kamra for want of jurisdiction as the offence was not committed within its local jurisdiction.

The court had said, "After taking into consideration of the whole facts and circumstances of the case this Court is of the view that alleged offence does not appear to have been committed within the jurisdiction of this Court. In such circumstances above application U/s 156(3) Cr.P.C. deserves to be dismissed."

Therefore, as per the factual matrix and circumstances, ADJ court found order of the court below having been passed only after analyzing relevant legal provisions and without any legal fault. Accordingly, court dismissed present plea.

Case Title: Saurabh Tiwari v. State of U.P. and Kunal Kamra