New Delhi, May 5 (UNI) The Supreme Court on Monday issued notices to comedians Samay Raina, Vipul Goyal, and three others in response to a writ petition alleging that they made derogatory and insensitive jokes targeting persons with disabilities.
The court directed that the individuals appear before it on the next date of hearing or face coercive action.
A bench comprising justices Surya Kant and N. Kotiswar Singh passed the order while hearing a petition filed by Cure SMA Foundation, a non-profit organisation advocating the rights of persons with spinal muscular atrophy.
The petition also names comedians Balraj Paramjeet Singh Ghai, Sonali Thakkar a.k.a. Sonali Aditya Desai, and Nishant Jagdish Tanwar.
The bench instructed the commissioner of police, Mumbai, to ensure service of notice on the individuals named. “If they fail to appear, coercive steps will be taken,” the court warned.
Taking serious note of the constitutional and social dimensions raised, the bench also sought the presence of the attorney general of India to assist the court “given the sensitivity and importance of the issue.”
Senior advocate Aparajita Singh, representing the Foundation, argued that the respondents, being social media influencers and comedians with significant youth following, cannot misuse freedom of speech to mock or demean vulnerable groups.
“Freedom of expression does not extend to defaming and humiliating persons with disabilities,” she submitted, adding that the comedians even made remarks ridiculing Supreme Court orders.
Justice Surya Kant remarked that freedom of speech must be balanced with the right to the dignity of others.
“There are people who, in the name of the fundamental right to speech, continue to write or speak as if everything is permissible… Hate speech, any speech that demeans another, if that kind of freedom exists, we will curtail it. We know how to,” he observed.
The court indicated its intention to lay down broader guidelines to address such conduct and requested legal counsel to suggest “remedial, curative, and preventive measures” for the regulation of speech that targets disabled persons.
The petition stems from earlier proceedings in a related case involving YouTuber Ranveer Allahabadia, where the court had expressed concern over increasing levels of vulgar and insensitive content on social media platforms and asked the Union government to clarify its regulatory stance.
The Foundation has contended that while humor related to disability can play a constructive role in challenging stereotypes, “disabling humour” that denigrates and demeans persons with disabilities must be clearly proscribed within the regulatory framework.
The petition also raises concerns about misuse of Article 19(1)(a) by online content creators, influencers, and digital platforms.
During an earlier hearing on April 21, Justice Kant had encouraged the petitioner to file a comprehensive petition impleading all relevant individuals and submit video clips and transcripts of the offensive material, along with suggestions for regulatory mechanisms.
The matter will be taken up next after the respondents are served and the attorney general is present to assist the court.
