Mumbai: Comedians and independent content providers in the world's largest internet economy appear to be struggling. Following a massive outrage over comedian Samay Raina's show 'India's Got Talent,' comedian Munawar Faruqui is also being investigated for alleged remarks made on his streaming show.
Advocate Amita Sachdeva took to her X, formerly Twitter on Sunday, and shared that she has filed an official complaint against Munawar Faruqui owing to his alleged remarks on the OTT show ‘Hafta Wasooli’.
Amita called Munawar a “habitual offender” =, and alleged that his alleged remarks on the show have insulted multiple religions, IANS reported.
She wrote, “Complaint Filed Against Munawar Faruqui ( @munawar0018 )! I have officially filed a complaint against habitual offender Munawar Faruqui, for his show "Hafta Wasooli" streamed on @JioHotstar, requesting an FIR under BNS Sections 196, 299, and 353, along with the IT Act and other relevant Sections for Promoting vulgarity, Insulting multiple religions, Violating cultural values and Polluting young minds & society”.
She further mentioned, “The complaint has been sent via email and will be physically submitted & speed-posted on Monday. If no action is taken, I will approach the Court to ensure justice prevails! #MunawarFaruqui #LegalAction #ProtectOurCulture”.
This is not Munawar’s first brush with the law. On January 1, 2021, he performed a stand-up show at Munro Cafe in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, which was interrupted by Eklavya Singh Gaur, son of BJP MLA Malini Gaur accusing him of making malicious jokes about Hindu deities and the Minister of Home Affairs of India, Amit Shah.
On January 2, he was arrested by Madhya Pradesh Police in the midst of his comic act, stating that he was arrested under the Hate speech laws in India. The police, despite having no evidence against Munawar, still arrested him. His arrest was heavily criticised for not respecting a comedian's freedom of speech.