SC Orders Samay Raina and Other Comedians to Apologise for Offensive Jokes on PwDs, Penalty Under Consideration

New Delhi, August 25 (TNA) The Supreme Court on Monday directed five stand-up comedians, including popular comic Samay Raina, to issue public apologies on their YouTube channels and social media platforms for making derogatory remarks against persons with disabilities (PwDs).

A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi was hearing a petition filed by SMA Cure Foundation, represented by Senior Advocate Aparajita Singh, highlighting offensive jokes by comedians Samay Raina, Vipun Goyal, Balraj Paramjeet Singh Ghai, Sonali Thakkar (a.k.a. Sonali Aditya Desai), and Nishant Jagdish Tanwar.

The Court emphasised that humour cannot come at the expense of another’s dignity. Justice Surya Kant observed, “The degree of repentance should be higher than the degree of offending; it is like purging contempt.” While the comedians personally appeared in court today, their presence was excused for future hearings.

The bench stated it would determine the penalty to be imposed during the next hearing. Meanwhile, Attorney General R. Venkataramani informed the Court that draft guidelines to prevent ridicule of PwDs will soon be presented, but noted that enforcing a “complete gag” on comedy is not feasible.