Supreme Court Orders Samay Raina, Other Comedians To Apologise On YouTube For Jokes Mocking Persons With Disabilities

The Supreme Court on Monday (25 August) directed several comedians, including Samay Raina, to post their apologies on their own platforms after a petition flagged jokes mocking persons with disabilities, the Hindustan Times reported.

A bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi was hearing a plea filed by the Cure SMA Foundation of India, which supports families affected by spinal muscular atrophy.

The petition pointed out offensive jokes by comedians such as Samay Raina, Vipun Goyal, Balraj Paramjeet Singh Ghai, Sonali Thakkar, and Nishant Jagdish Tanwar.

The matter was also clubbed with India’s Got Latent controversy involving YouTuber Ranveer Allahbadia.

Appearing for the Foundation, Senior Advocate Aparajita Singh told the court that “good sense has prevailed” and all comics had apologised. The bench, however, noted that Raina had tried to portray himself as “very innocent and then apologised.”

Attorney General R Venkataramani, representing the Centre, said guidelines for comedians and influencers would take time to frame. “There cannot be a complete gag,” he observed.

Justice Kant stressed that the framework should be “broad-based” and include expert opinions, while Justice Bagchi remarked, “Humour is a part of life and we can take jokes on us. But when you start making fun of others, there is a breach of sensitivity.”

The court underlined the need for balance, with Justice Kant stating, “There should be a balance of rights and duties.” The bench also warned, “Today it’s about disabled, next time it can be women, senior citizens, children... where will this end?”

Instead of a financial penalty, Singh suggested that comics use their influence to promote awareness on disability and rare diseases. “Let them use their influence to take forward this issue. That would be the best apology,” she said. The comics agreed.

The court ordered that the comedians post apologies on their YouTube channels and report back on the penalty they are willing to bear.

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