In a significant development, the Supreme Court on Monday directed comedians Samay Raina, Vipul Goyal, and three others to personally appear before the bench in response to a petition alleging they made offensive jokes targeting persons with disabilities.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh instructed the Commissioner of Police to serve notices to ensure their presence in court on the next hearing date. The court warned that coercive steps would be taken if they failed to appear.
The plea was filed by M/s Cure SMA Foundation, which alleged that Raina, during a show, mocked the high-cost treatment for Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) in the case of a two-month-old child and, in another instance, ridiculed a blind and cross-eyed individual.
The three others named in the petition are Balraj Paramjeet Singh Ghai, Sonali Thakkar a.k.a. Sonali Aditya Desai, and Nishant Jagdish Tanwar.
The Foundation originally flagged the issue via an intervention in a separate case involving YouTuber Ranveer Allahabadia. In that matter, the apex court had expressed concern over obscene and insensitive online content and asked the Union Government for its views on regulating such content.
The petitioner claims that the current regulatory framework inadequately protects persons with disabilities from disparaging humor. It also raised concerns over the misuse of freedom of speech under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution by influencers and online content publishers.
The court had earlier suggested that the Foundation file a comprehensive petition with evidence, including video clippings and transcripts, along with proposed regulatory measures. The present petition follows that directive.
Case Title: M/S. Cure SMA Foundation of India vs. Union of India & Ors., W.P.(C) No. 460/2025
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