Mumbai: Controversial comedian Kunal Kamra Saturday sent a legal notice to IndiGo, demanding a public apology and Rs 25 lakh for ‘causing mental pain and agony’.
The stand-up comic also demanded a revocation of the six-month ban imposed on him for ‘heckling’ Republic TV’s pro-establishment editor Arnab Goswami.
Following the sensational episode between Kamra and Goswami, several airlines companies jumped to the latter’s rescue by banning Kamra. Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri urged everyone to follow IndiGo’s lead in banning Kamra from flying on their planes.
Kamra is known for his stand-up routines that involve critical, satirical takes on the ruling government and government-friendly news channels. He was swiftly put on a no-flying list by several airlines companies after he shared a video of him confronting Goswami on a plane.
The video features Kamra throwing questions at Goswami who, unlike his primetime shows, remained mum, without responding even once.
The ban is in fact a violation of not just civil liberties but also due process as normal procedure dictates formation of an internal committee within 30 days to probe the matter.
The decision taken by the committee can be appealed against in an appellate body of the Civil Aviation Ministry and a court.
The captain of the IndiGo flight that Kamra and Goswami were travelling in went as far as writing to the airline’s management as to why he wasn’t consulted before the ban was imposed.
“I was disheartened to learn my airline has taken action in this case on the basis of social media posts, with no consultation whatsoever with the pilot-in-command. This is somewhat unprecedented in my nine years of flying,” the letter by Captain Rahul Mateti said.
PNN
