The Supreme Court on Tuesday imposed a fine of Rs 3 lakh on stand-up comedians Samay Raina, Ranveer Allahbadia, and Ashish Chanchlani for failing to comply with a previous judicial directive concerning offensive remarks about people with disabilities.
A three-judge bench, led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and including Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, ordered the three individuals to deposit the penalty within two weeks. The court issued the order after being informed that Raina had failed to invite specially abled individuals to his show, “India’s Got Latent,” which was a key condition of a prior court directive.
During the hearing, the bench expressed strong disapproval of the comedians’ conduct, with Chief Justice Kant stating that the court had no doubt Raina had taken the judicial system for a ride. The court observed that Raina was in blatant violation of the undertakings he had previously submitted. The bench added that the comedians attempted to compound their misconduct by claiming they had filed a compliance affidavit on Monday, when no such document had actually been submitted.
Addressing the behavior of the content creators, Chief Justice Kant remarked that the comedians seemed to believe they were beyond the court’s jurisdiction because they were outside the country. He noted that they must face the consequences of their actions, adding that their behavior demonstrated clear arrogance.
Origin Of The Case
The legal proceedings initiated after the Cure SMA India Foundation filed a petition targeting jokes made by Raina, who hosts “India’s Got Latent,” and other social media influencers. The plea named several other comedians, including Vipun Goyal, Balraj Paramjeet Singh Ghai, Sonali Thakkar, and Nishant Jagdish Tanwar, for ridiculing individuals with disabilities and rare genetic disorders.
Previous Judicial Directives
In May, the Supreme Court summoned five stand-up comedians and influencers over their derogatory remarks, warning that any speech demeaning a specific community or class of people would be restricted.
In August of last year, the court directed the comedians to issue unconditional apologies on their respective podcasts and digital platforms. The court also ordered Raina to host fundraisers on his channel for specially abled individuals with inspiring stories. The bench had previously warned that such offensive conduct could lead to penal consequences under the Information Technology Act, and instructed the comedians to propose the penalties they were willing to undergo.
