Kumar Bahukhandi
“Let them suffer now. If this is not arrogance, then we have to change the Oxford dictionary also,” the CJI observed.
“We have no reason to doubt that Samay Raina has taken the court for a ride. He is in brazen violation of statements/ undertakings given before this court.”
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday came down hard on comedian Samay Raina and YouTubers Ranveer Allahbadia and Ashish Chanchlani for not complying with its order to invite specially abled persons persons to his show. Saying the “self-styled youth icons” had taken the court for a ride, imposed costs of `3 lakh on each of them., PTI reported.
A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant passed the order after it was informed that Raina had not invited any disabled persons to his show according to its earlier order.
The apex court had said the influencers could have invited specially abled persons on their platforms to promote the cause of generating funds to provide timely treatment to those suffering from rare diseases. It had asked five social media influencers, including Raina, to display their unconditional apology in their podcasts or shows for ridiculing persons with disabilities and rare genetic disorders.
“We have no reason to doubt that Samay Raina has taken the court for a ride. He is in brazen violation of statements/ undertakings given before this court. The misconduct is sought to be compounded by stating that a compliance affidavit was filed yesterday (Monday), however, no affidavit has been filed,” the apex court said.
The CJI remarked that they think sitting outside the country, they are beyond the court’s jurisdiction. “Let them suffer now. If this is not arrogance, then we have to change the Oxford dictionary also,” the CJI observed.
Flagging the need for a stringent law to protect the dignity of the disabled, the apex court bench, also comprising Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V. Mohana, asked the Centre to consider framing a statute to make derogatory remarks ridiculing persons with disabilities and rare genetic disorders a penal offence on the lines of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
The top court was hearing a plea filed by Cure SMA India Foundation alleging that Raina made insensitive remarks over the high cost of treatment for spinal muscular atrophy and also allegedly ridiculed a person with such a disability.
Senior advocate Aparajita Singh, appearing for the organisation, told the top court that Raina never contacted them to join any of his shows. The plea flagged jokes made by ‘India’s Got Latent’ host Samay Raina and other social media influencers Vipun Goyal, Balraj Paramjeet Singh Ghai, Sonali Thakkar and Nishant Jagdish Tanwar.
Asking them to be careful about their conduct in future, the top court also directed Raina and others to hold two programmes or shows per month about the success stories of Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) to generate funds for the treatment of disabled persons, especially those suffering from SMA.
