The Supreme Court on Monday came down on comedians Samay Raina, Vipul Goyal, Balraj Ghai, Sonali Thakkar, and Nishant Tanwar for allegedly making derogatory jokes against persons with disabilities in their show India’s Got Latent.
Hearing a plea filed by SMA Cure Foundation, a bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi underscored the need for sensitivity while exercising free speech.
Justice Bagchi said, “Humor is essential, but mocking vulnerable groups cannot be justified, especially when speech is commercialized by influencers.”
The bench noted that there is distinction between free speech and commercial speech. The bench held that commercialised speech does not enjoy the same level of protection.
Justice Surya Kant further noted, “Today you mock the disabled, tomorrow it may be women, children, or senior citizens. Where are we headed as a society?”
The bench directed the five comedians to tender unconditional and ‘purposeful’ public apologies not just in court but also on their own platforms like podcasts, YouTube channels, and social media handles.
The bench also asked the Centre to frame broad-based guidelines in consultation with domain experts to regulate vulgar and crass content on OTT and social media.
We must decide where freedom of expression ends and where duties and reasonable restrictions begin.
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