STAND UP COMEDIANS Samay Raina, Vipul Goyal, Balraj Paramjeet Singh Ghai, Nishant Jagdish Tanwar and Sonali Thakkar (Sonali Aditya Desai) have been directed by the Supreme Court to tender unconditional apologies on their social media platforms, including YouTube, for alleged insensitive remarks against persons with disabilities.
A Division Bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi also asked the Union government to place before the Court the draft guidelines it is preparing to regulate online content and ensure that the dignity and rights of all communities are safeguarded.
The Bench noted that humour and satire are integral to free expression but cautioned that commercialised content cannot cross the line of dignity.
“Humour is part of life and we can take jokes on ourselves. But when you start making fun of others, there is a breach of sensitivity,” Justice Kant observed.
Justice Bagchi underlined that commercial speech stands on a different footing from free speech. “It’s not just freedom of speech but the question is of commercial speech. When we talk of commercial speech, then there is no freedom there,” he said.
The Court emphasised that India’s diversity required particular sensitivity, adding: “These are so-called influencers of today. When you are commercialising speech, you cannot use the community and hurt their sentiments.”
Attorney General R. Venkataramani, appearing for the Union, noted that there cannot be a blanket gag on speech, stressing balancing freedom of expression with respect for dignity and equality. He assured that the draft guidelines would be filed in Court.
The Bench clarified that the guidelines should not be a knee-jerk response to one incident. “[The] policy is for future challenges,” Justice Kant explained, adding that expert input would be taken to ensure the framework is robust and forward-looking.
The proceedings stem from a petition by Cure SMA Foundation, which alleged that the comedians made derogatory remarks about persons suffering from Spinal Muscular Atrophy (‘SMA’) and other disabilities, trivialising their struggles and mocking expensive treatment options.
The NGO argued that such online content dehumanises persons with disabilities, reinforces stereotypes, and violates their rights under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution. It also complained that there were no explicit statutory guidelines to regulate such broadcasts on digital platforms.
The petition has sought the prohibition of derogatory or ableist content on digital platforms, framing of guidelines to protect the dignity and rights of persons with disabilities, and recognition of a positive obligation on both government and private actors to ensure fair representation of disabled persons in online media.
On May 5, the Court summoned the comedians, warning of coercive steps if they failed to appear. Notices were also issued to the Ministries of Information and Broadcasting, Electronics and IT, Social Justice, the News Broadcasters and Digital Association, and the Indian Broadcasting and Digital Foundation.
