New Delhi: Slamming the conduct of comedian Samay Raina and YouTubers Ranveer Allahbadia and Ashish Chanchlani, the Supreme Court on Tuesday said they had "taken the court for a ride" and imposed a cost of ₹3 lakh each on them.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana passed the order after it was informed that Raina had not invited persons with disabilities to his show despite the court's earlier direction.
The apex court had directed the influencers to invite persons with disabilities to their platforms to promote fundraising for the timely treatment of those suffering from rare diseases such as Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA).
It had also asked five social media influencers, including Samay Raina, to display an unconditional apology in their podcasts or shows for ridiculing persons with disabilities and rare genetic disorders.
"We have no reason to doubt that Samay Raina has taken the court for a ride. He is in brazen violation of the statements and undertakings given before this court.
"The misconduct is sought to be compounded by stating that a compliance affidavit was filed yesterday. However, no affidavit has been filed," the bench said.
The Chief Justice remarked that the influencers seemed to believe that, by sitting outside the country, they were beyond the court's jurisdiction.
"Let them suffer now. If this is not arrogance, then we have to change the Oxford dictionary also," the CJI observed.
"In public life, the more you respect others, the more respect you earn. You don't humiliate people," he added.
The top court was hearing a plea filed by the Cure SMA India Foundation, which alleged that Raina made insensitive remarks about the high cost of treatment for Spinal Muscular Atrophy and ridiculed a person living with the condition.
During the hearing, senior advocate Aparajita Singh, appearing for the organisation, told the court that Raina had never contacted the foundation to invite persons with SMA to participate in any of his shows.
"The affidavit filed by them says they could not contact me. Now we find it distasteful to ask to be part of his show. He has apparently conducted shows with persons with disabilities at some physical venues.
"I don't know what kind of youth icon he is. People like Samay Raina are apparently youth icons. I shudder to think so," she said.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta responded, "Our youth has better icons."
"Recently, he (Raina) started a new show where he mocked the system without naming anyone. At the beginning, he said he was doing something he had not done in the last series.
"He hangs nimbu-mirchi. He did not name anyone, but the reference was quite visible. I did not want to go into it, but if he has not contacted the SMA Foundation or persons suffering from SMA, it shows his arrogance," Mehta said.
The plea also flagged jokes made by India's Got Latent host Samay Raina and social media influencers Vipun Goyal, Balraj Paramjeet Singh Ghai, Sonali Thakkar and Nishant Jagdish Tanwar.
Highlighting the need for stronger legal protection for the dignity of persons with disabilities, the Supreme Court asked the Centre to consider enacting a law to make derogatory remarks targeting persons with disabilities and rare genetic disorders a penal offence, on the lines of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
The bench also directed Raina and the other comedians to conduct two programmes or shows every month, highlighting the success stories of persons with disabilities (PwDs) to help raise funds for their treatment, particularly those suffering from SMA. It also cautioned them to be more responsible in their conduct in the future.
