Munawar Faruqui – or Munawar bhai as many of his fans fondly refer to him – is a comedian. Naturally, therefore, through the course of his career he has offended a lot of people.
Unfortunately, even in today’s day and age, offending the wrong people can leave a comedian languishing in jail, as Faruqui and his associates have found out.
Arrested on 2 January in Indore after his show was interrupted by BJP MLA Malini Gaur’s son Eklavya Singh Gaur, Faruqui’s requests for bail have been rejected by the local Chief Judicial Magistrate and the Additional District and Sessions court.
He moved a plea in the Madhya Pradesh High Court which came up for hearing on Friday, 15 January, but after the Indore Police failed to produce the right documents, the case was adjourned by the high court for a week.
The case has generated controversy over the basic premise of it all – arresting a comedian for telling jokes – which strikes a blow at the right to freedom of speech and expression.