The Supreme Court on Tuesday summoned five comedians namely Samay Raina, Vipun Goyal, Balraj Paramjeet Singh Ghai, Sonali Thakkar and Nishant Tanwar while hearing a plea seeking action against them for their insensitive jokes on persons suffering from disabilities.
A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi directed all five comedians to file their replies within two weeks. The court stressed that no further extensions would be granted and warned that their absence on the next date of hearing would be viewed seriously.
The plea, filed by the SMA Cure Foundation and represented by senior advocate Aparajita Singh, accused the comedians of violating the dignity of PwDs through demeaning jokes and content circulated online.
All the comedians appeared before the bench on Tuesday in compliance with a prior order. However, the court granted an exemption to Sonali Thakkar, allowing her to attend the next hearing virtually due to a physical condition.
The bench reiterated the seriousness of the matter, stating it involved fundamental questions about the right to dignity of individuals with disabilities. It also made it clear that continued personal appearances, except for Thakkar, would be mandatory at future hearings.
Samay Raina also appeared before the National Commission for Women (NCW) in Delhi the same day, months after he was summoned in connection with allegedly offensive and sexist content aired during his show “India’s Got Latent”, officials said.
Raina submitted his statement in response to the allegations to NCW officials. Officials said further steps will be considered after reviewing his response.
The NCW had issued Raina notice following public outrage over remarks by participants and hosts that were perceived to be derogatory towards women.
His appearance before the panel follows repeated summonses issued since February. Raina and others did not attend the original hearing on February 17 citing travel and security-related constraints.
The NCW rescheduled the hearing, giving them time to return to India and appear in person.
(With inputs from PTI)