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In a joint statement over 100 artists and writers, including Arundhati Roy, Kunal Kamra, Pooja Bhatt and Kalki Koechlin, have demanded full dismissal of all charges against stand-up comedian Munawar Faruqui and four others for allegedly hurting religious sentiments during a show on new year.

Faruqui and his four associates were arrested on the complaint grounds of  Eklavya Singh Gaur, the chief of Hind Rakshak Sangathan, and  son of BJP MLA Malini Gaur. 

Faruqui was later released from the Indore Central Jail late in the night on February 6 after he was granted interim bail by the Supreme Court.

Noting that this case endangers the right to liberty and freedom of expression that every citizen in India is constitutionally entitled the statement said, "However, through instances like these, it is obvious that most arrests and forms of censorship carried out against artists  are founded on arbitrary grounds and are greatly damaging to artistic and creative freedom in the country."

This statement is consolidated by diasporic Indian group Progressive India Collective in partnership with PEN America's Artists at Risk Connection, Freemuse, and Reclaiming India.