NEW DELHI — The Supreme Court of India on Tuesday heavily reprimanded stand-up comedian Samay Raina alongside prominent digital content creators Ranveer Allahbadia and Ashish Chanchlani for failing to comply with its clear directives, sharply observing that the online personalities behave as self-styled youth icons. A judicial bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi, and Justice V. Mohana passed the punitive order after receiving official confirmation that Raina had completely failed to invite individuals with disabilities to participate in his digital broadcast events as previously mandated by the apex court.
Expressing deep dissatisfaction with the conduct of the web influencers, the apex bench stated that it had no reason to doubt that Samay Raina had deliberately taken the court for a ride. The judges noted that the digital creator stood in brazen violation of explicit undertakings and statements formally presented before the judiciary. The top court further observed that the legal misconduct was compounded by the defense falsely claiming that a formal compliance affidavit had been submitted the previous day, whereas a verification of the judicial records revealed that no such document had been filed.
Chief Justice Surya Kant remarked that the internet creators appear to mistakenly believe that sitting outside the borders of the country places them safely beyond the statutory jurisdiction of Indian law enforcement. The Chief Justice noted that if such deliberate avoidance of judicial accountability does not qualify as sheer arrogance, the formal definition in the Oxford dictionary would have to be altered. Consequently, the Supreme Court imposed a strict fine of ₹3 lakh each on Samay Raina and four fellow comedians—Vipul Goyal, Balraj Paramjeet Singh Ghai, Sonali Thakkar, and Nishant Jagdish Tanwar—ordering the amounts to be deposited within a strict two-week window.
The high-level legal battle originated from a public interest petition moved by the Cure SMA India Foundation. The organisation alleged that the host of the popular YouTube reality show India’s Got Latent, Samay Raina, alongside several guest panelists, made highly insensitive, demeaning jokes regarding the astronomical costs associated with treating Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) and actively ridiculed individuals living with genetic disorders. Senior advocate Aparajita Singh, representing the foundation, informed the court that despite the public backlash and subsequent legal proceedings, the show producers never reached out to the support group or invited specially-abled guests to participate in their ongoing programs.
The continuous legal scrutiny has previously prompted the Supreme Court to recommend that the central government consider drafting a specialized, stringent penal statute. The proposed framework would function similarly to the SC/ST Act, effectively making derogatory remarks, jokes, and public ridicule targeting persons with disabilities or rare genetic conditions a cognizable criminal offence. While granting the digital creators a final fifteen-day window to submit a valid compliance affidavit, the bench reiterated its previous mandate requiring the comedians to organize two dedicated public shows per month highlighting the success stories of Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) to generate charity funds for critical SMA treatments.
