NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has pulled up stand-up comedian Samay Raina and five other digital panelists, slapping a fine of ₹3 lakh each for openly flouting court directives and misleading the bench in a matter concerning insensitive remarks about persons with disabilities.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi, and Justice V Mohana directed Samay Raina, YouTuber Ranveer Allahbadia, Vipul Goyal, Balraj Paramjit Singh Ghai, Sonali Thakker, and Nishant Jagdish Tanwar to deposit the fine within two weeks.
The apex court was hearing a petition filed by the CURE SMA (Spinal Muscular Atrophy) Foundation of India. The foundation had moved the court against controversial comments made during Raina’s digital comedy show, India’s Got Latent.
During the controversial episode, Raina had referred to a charity drive aimed at procuring a ₹16-crore injection for a two-month-old infant battling Spinal Muscular Atrophy. Making light of the life-threatening condition, Raina had asked an audience member if a mother, with ₹16 crore in her bank account, wouldn’t look at her husband and think about rising inflation instead, given that there was no guarantee of the child’s survival.
Following the backlash, the Supreme Court had previously issued specific guidelines intended to bring about reform, directing Raina to host bi-monthly fundraising events for the disabled and to invite persons with disabilities to share the stage on his show.
However, Senior Advocate Aparajita Singh, appearing for the CURE SMA Foundation, informed the bench that Raina had failed to comply with the directives and had not reached out to the foundation or any individuals with disabilities to join the show.
Taking a strict view of the non-compliance, the bench remarked that it had extended leniency to the content creators for a long time, assuming they came from good families and would reform their ways.
“As an artist, you are in public life. The more you respect others, the more it is an investment in yourself,” the bench noted, warning the creators that they must face the consequences if they do not learn to respect the sentiments of society.
During the arguments, Raina’s counsel submitted that India’s Got Latent had raised ₹9 lakh for the cause and claimed they had invited persons with disabilities to the show, stating they possessed photographic proof. The counsel expressed regret if the complainant’s clients could not make it.
Advocate Aparajita Singh, however, clarified to the court that her clients were not seeking any monetary compensation.
The court noted that the fine amount was initially considered to be ₹10 lakh but was subsequently reduced to ₹3 lakh. The bench made it clear that if the panelists fail to adhere to the judicial orders moving forward, the penalty will be increased to ₹30 lakh.
Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) is a rare and severe genetic disease that targets the nervous system and muscles. It leads to the degeneration of motor neurons in the spinal cord, disrupting signals from the brain to the muscles, which ultimately causes muscle wasting and severe weakness.
