Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday reprimanded comedian Samay Raina and four other influencers for making “insensitive” jokes about people with disabilities, directing them to apologise and warning that penalties may follow.
What Samay Raina Said
During a show, Raina referred to a charity case involving a two-month-old baby who required a ₹16 crore injection for treatment. Turning to a woman in the audience, he quipped, “Ma’am, imagine you were that mother and suddenly ₹16 crore appeared in your bank account… with a two-month-old baby… wouldn’t you at least glance at your husband and think… ‘Hmmm, inflation is rising’?” The remark was criticised as mocking families of children suffering from Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA).
Court Proceedings and Wider Criticism
The petition was filed by the CURE SMA Foundation of India, naming Raina along with Vipul Goyal, Balraj Ghai, Sonali Thakkar, and Nishant Tanwar for ridiculing persons with disabilities and rare disorders. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi stressed that freedom of expression does not extend to commercialised speech that harms communities. While all five were directed to appear, Sonali Thakkar was exempted from physical presence provided she issued an unconditional on-air apology. The judges also criticised Raina’s affidavit for initially trying to justify his conduct.
Guidelines On Responsible Content
Attorney General R Venkataramani told the court that the Centre would frame guidelines for comedians and social media influencers to prevent offensive content targeting vulnerable groups. The bench clarified that such rules must be broad-based and forward-looking, not drafted in reaction to a single case. It warned the comedians that similar conduct targeting women, children, or senior citizens would invite penalties in the future.
