New Delhi : The Supreme Court on Thursday took a strong stand against comedian Samay Raina’s mockery of specially-abled people. A bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi ordered Raina and four other comedians — Balraj Paramjeet Singh Ghai, Sonali Thakkar, and Nishant Jagdish Tanwar — to raise funds for the treatment of disabled persons and showcase the success stories in their programmes.
Raina, on his now-defunct India’s Got Latent show on YouTube, mocked the treatment of patients, including an infant, suffering from Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) in two of his videos, and has also ridiculed blind and cross-eyed individuals. Following the mockery, the court issued multiple summonses to the comedians and directed them to issue public apologies on their platforms.
Chief Justice Surya Kant also proposed the idea of a stringent law, similar to the SC/ST Act, making humiliating jokes about the disabled a punishable offense. “Why not consider a law along the lines of the SC/ST Act, with clear punishment for demeaning them?” he asked the Solicitor General, who agreed that humour should never come at the cost of anyone’s dignity.
The CJI further cautioned the comedians to exercise care in their conduct in the future, both within India and abroad. “You and your team need to be very careful in the future, whether within the country or outside,” he added. In October, Samay Raina and the four other comedians expressed regret in a joint statement. “We, Samay Raina, Vipul Goyal, Sonali Thakkar, Nishant Tanwar, and Balraj Ghai, deeply regret the pain caused by our show. Going forward, we will be more mindful and do our best to raise awareness about the challenges faced by the community.
Read Also : Critical Role of India’s Gen-Z In Reshaping The Country’s Space Sector Says PM Narendra Modi