SC allows Ranveer Allahabadia to Resume BeerBiceps Podcast, but with Conditions
Allahbadia's advocate Abhinav Chandrachud highlighted that the podcaster has 280 employees and his source of livelihood
New Delhi: The Apex Court on Monday allowed YouTuber Ranveer Allahabadia to resume his podcast, subject to maintaining standards of “decency” and “morality”. A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh also asked the Centre to propose measures to regulate content for YouTube channels and social media and made it clear that such measures would subsequently invite comments and suggestions from the people and stakeholders.
The bench also asked Allahabadia to join the investigation at Guwahati and Mumbai. The apex court said the YouTuber was free to run the program, “subject to morality and decency”, after noting that the livelihoods of nearly 200 employees are involved. The bench said fundamental rights also come with duties, and the country gives guarantees to enjoy fundamental rights, but there are also some duties.
The apex court stressed the need for some regulation of online content and added that somebody who has commercial ventures cannot be allowed to say anything that is not something it approves of. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta suggested that by not impinging on somebody’s freedom of expression, some methodology can be laid down, and added, I am all for it. Freedom of expression is precious, and it will have to be protected but vulgarity and perversity cannot be allowed in our next generation.
Justice Kant said that what we tentatively propose to do is to impress upon the Union to draft something that can be regulatory (measures) balancing both…We would like all stakeholders to be invited. It should be brought into the public domain. Let us have a healthy debate on it. Let us also try to identify what kind of intake a society is ready for; you cannot feed something to the society for which it is not prepared. We are talking about our society.
Mehta urged the court to let him stay quiet for some time. Earlier, Allahabadia was restrained from shooting any show. The bench said he must provide an undertaking that the shows will maintain standards of morality and decency so that viewers of any age group can watch them.
Abhinav Chandrachud, representing Allahbadia, requested the apex court to allow his client to host podcasts and pointed out that he has many employees, and “this is his livelihood, not comedy”.
YouTuber Allahbadia moved before the Supreme Court seeking clubbing of multiple FIRs filed against him over his controversial comments during a show, ‘India’s Got Latent. Allahbadia is widely known by his online moniker “BeerBiceps”. In the previous hearing, the apex court had granted him interim protection from arrest.
Allahbadia sought a direction for clubbing the FIRs and a grant of protection from coercive actions. The FIRs stem from controversial remarks made during a now-deleted YouTube reality show, India’s Got Latent, hosted by comedian Samay Raina.
The FIRs against Allahbadia and others, including Raina, were filed in Guwahati, Assam, following complaints about alleged obscenity and crass remarks made during the show. The comments have triggered massive outrage. Multiple police complaints were filed against Allahbadia, Samay Raina and others linked to the show.