On Tuesday (February 17), stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sushma Andhare appeared in front of the Maharashtra Legislative Council’s Privileges Committee in connection with alleged derogatory remarks against Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. But the hearing was adjourned to March 10 owing to the absence of the main complainant, BJP leader and Member of Legislative Council (MLC) Pravin Darekar.
Committee chairperson Prasad Lad said that statements from both sides would be recorded on the same day. “Kamra told the committee that he was ready to record his statement. However, it would not be appropriate to record it in the absence of the complainant,” Lad said.
What is the case against Kamra and Andhare, and why is a privileges committee hearing this? We explain.
What is the case about?
On March 23, 2025, Kamra posted a video of a stand-up act on YouTube titled “Naya Bharat”, in which he performed a satirical song allegedly referring to Shinde in context of the latter’s 2022 rebellion against then Chief Minister and undivided Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray. Shinde’s move resulted in the split of the Shiv Sena and collapse of the Thackeray-led government, and he then became Chief Minister with the BJP’s support.
The performance, which parodied a popular Hindi film song, was widely shared on social media. A day later, Shiv Sena workers vandalised the Mumbai venue where Kamra had performed.
Andhare had shared a video supporting Kamra and questioned why “others” who had insulted the Maratha ruler Chhatrapati Shivaji had not been targeted.
On March 26, MLC Darekar moved a “breach of privilege” notice in the Legislative Council — the Maharashtra legislature’s Upper House, with the Legislative Assembly being the Lower House — against Kamra and Andhare, saying their remarks were defamatory and lowered the dignity of the House. In their response to the notices in July last year seeking their explanation, both Kamra and Andhare had denied the charges.
What constitutes privilege?
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The book Law of Parliamentary Privileges: Maharashtra Legislature Secretariat (2011), authored by then Principal Secretary of the Maharashtra Legislature Secretariat Anant Kalse, traces the origin and evolution of legislative privileges to medieval England, when there was an ongoing tussle of power between the executive (monarch) and the legislative (British parliament). “In most cases, privileges were exercised to protect the members of Parliament from undue pressure or influence by the Monarch among others,” he writes.
Privilege, he states, is “essentially a private advantage in law enjoyed by a person or a class of persons or an association which is not enjoyed by others… that bundle of advantages which members of both Houses enjoy or have at one time enjoyed to a greater extent than their fellow citizens”.
Although there is no law specifying such privileges in the context of the Indian parliament or state legislatures, they are broadly understood to comprise freedom of speech and immunity from judicial proceedings against anything members say or votes they cast in the legislature.
How does one ‘breach’ privilege?
In Kamra’s case, Darekar had claimed that the comedian had “insulted” a “popular leader” and breached the privilege of the legislature. Similar charges were brought against Andhare as well.
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Kalse writes that an offence constitutes a “breach of privilege” when any of the members’ rights and immunities, either individually or of the Assembly collectively, are “disregarded or attacked by any individual or authority”. He also mentions the right of each House to punish actions “which, while not breaches of any specific privilege, are offences against its authority or dignity, such as disobedience to its legitimate commands or libels upon itself, its officers or its Members”.
It should be noted that while Shinde is an elected MLA from the Kopri-Pachpakhadi Assembly constituency, he is also the incumbent Leader of the House in the Legislative Council since December 2024. The Maharashtra Legislative Council Rules, which regulate the procedure and conduct of business of the Council, state that Leader of the House means “Chief Minister or any other Minister appointed by the Chief Minister”.
Under the Maharashtra Legislative Council Rules (ninth edition, 2022), Section (a) of Part XVII deals with the House proceedings regarding “Questions of Privilege”. Rule 240 says that “a member may, with the permission of the Chairman, raise a question involving a breach of privilege either of a member, or of the Council, or of a Committee thereof”.
While rule 243 states that the Chairman of the House can choose to give or refuse permission to discuss the matter proposed, rule 244 then stipulates that “the Chairman may, in his discretion, refer the question to the Committee of Privileges for examination and report or refer it to the House for decision”.
What can the Committee do?
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Although the Rules state that the Committee on Privileges, the House Chairman nominates, should not exceed 11 MLCs, the present committee strength is 9. Rule 246 says that the Committee, after examining the matter and giving all concerned parties an opportunity to present their case, determines “whether a breach of privilege is involved and if so, the nature of the breach, the circumstances leading to it, and make a report to the Council”. This report “may also state the procedure to be followed by the Council in giving effect to the recommendations made by the Committee”.
As far as what action can be recommended, Kalse’s book lists important privilege cases involving the Maharashtra Legislative Council. In the past, recommended actions have included admonishment of a concerned individual (Bombay Municipal Corporation case, 1964), expression of disapproval of a newspaper editor’s conduct (Lokmat case, 1973), and closing the matter following an unconditional apology (Suzlon Infrastructure case, 2009).
