Supreme Court Asks Samay Raina, Other Comedians To Post Apologies For Jokes On Persons With Disabilities

The Supreme Court on Monday reportedly asked Samay Raina and four other comedians to publish apologies on their YouTube and other social media handles for insensitive jokes made against persons with disabilities.

As reported by NDTV, the court ruled that the right to freedom of speech and expression "can't apply just like that on commercial speech" when it hurts the sentiments of a community. The ruling came while the bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi was hearing a petition filed by the Cure SMA Foundation of India against several comedians, including Samay Raina, for making jokes that mocked persons with disabilities.

The court reportedly emphasised that Article 19 which addresses freedom of speech, cannot overpower Article 21 which is the right to dignity. This was established by the court's observation that while humour 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.

Further, the apex court has asked the Centre to frame guidelines for social media influencers and comedians. The Attorney General, R Venkataramani, agreed to place a draft of the proposed guidelines on record, though he cautioned that there cannot be a complete gag. The bench, stressed that these guidelines must be forward-looking, not merely a reaction to a single incident, and should be broad-based to address future challenges.