New Delhi: The Supreme Court of India (SC) on Thursday delivered a stern rebuke to comedian and YouTuber Samay Raina and four other comedians for reportedly mocking specially-abled people, ordering them to raise funds for disabled persons and highlight their success stories in their programmes.
A bench led by Surya Kant (Chief Justice of India) along with Joymalya Bagchi directed Raina, along with Balraj Paramjeet Singh Ghai, Sonali Thakkar and Nishant Jagdish Tanwar, to raise funds for treatment of disabled persons, especially those suffering from rare disorders like Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), and to feature persons with disabilities on their platforms.
The court’s order follows earlier incidents when some of their videos — particularly from their now-defunct show India’s Got Latent — contained jokes ridiculing patients, including infants with SMA, as well as blind and cross-eyed individuals.
At the
hearing, the bench suggested that the comics invite people with disabilities — especially those affected by SMA — onto their shows; the comedians’ counsel agreed to comply.
The CJI also floated the idea of a more robust legal framework, urging the government to consider a law akin to the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, which would make humiliating jokes about disabled persons punishable. The Solicitor General, present in court, concurred, stating that humour should never come at the cost of anyone’s dignity.
This landmark ruling casts the issue not merely as a matter of apology, but as a social responsibility — shifting the onus onto content creators and public figures to use their platforms to uplift, rather than demean, marginalized communities.
“We hope and expect that such few memorable events will take place before we hear the matter next. 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”, CJI Surya Kant said.
The directions came on a plea filed by Cure SMA Foundation seeking directions against comedians making insensitive remarks against people suffering with disabilities.