'Social Burden, Not Penal': SC Asks Samay Raina, Other Comedians To Platform Disabled Achievers

The Supreme Court on Thursday directed Samay Raina and three other comedians to invite specially-abled persons with success stories to their shows in order to raise funds for their treatment.

The apex court's order came during the hearing of controversies related to Samay Raina's YouTube show 'India's Got Latent', before a two-judge bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi, according to NDTV reports.

Multiple FIRs were filed against popular YouTubers Samay Raina and Ranveer Allahbadia after a controversial episode on the former's show.

Following the controversy, a plea was filed by the not-for-profit organisation Cure SMA Foundation seeking directions against comedians making insensitive remarks about people with disabilities.

Chief Justice Kant emphasised that the court hopes and expects a few such memorable events to take place before the next hearing.

"It’s a social burden we are putting on you (comedians) not penal burden. You are all well-placed persons in the society. If you have become too popular, then share it with others," he underlined.

Earlier in August, the court had asked the comedians to publish apologies on their YouTube and other social media handles for insensitive jokes made against persons with disabilities.

Further, the court reportedly emphasised that Article 19, which guarantees freedom of speech, cannot overpower Article 21, which ensures the right to dignity.

The court observed that while humor is a part of life, it becomes problematic when it is used to “laugh at others and create a breach of sensitivity.” The judges noted that when individuals "are commercialising speech," they cannot use a community to hurt their sentiments.

The SC also asked the Centre to frame guidelines for social media influencers and comedians. The bench stressed that these guidelines must be forward-looking, not merely reactive to a single incident, and should be broad-based to address future challenges.