New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday came down heavily on the comedian Samay Rainaslapping him with a cost of Rs 3 lakh for failing to comply with undertakings given in court in the India’s Got Latent controversy involving insensitive jokes targeting the disabled.
The court also imposed the same cost on four other comedians Vipul Goyal, Balraj Paramjeet Singh Ghai, Sonali Thakkar and Nishant Jagadish Tanwar.
A bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana expressed strong displeasure over Raina’s conduct, observing that he had brazenly violated the undertakings given to the court.
“We have no reason to suspect that Samay Raina has taken the Court for a spin. He is in brazen violation of the statements/undertakings given before this Court,” the bench said.
The comedian had earlier undertaken in court that he would conduct special shows to highlight the achievements of people with disabilities and generate funds for the treatment of those suffering from rare diseases.
However, the court noted that Raina failed to fulfill these guarantees.
The bench recorded that Raina had tried to justify the delay by claiming that a compliance statement had been filed, even though no such statement was on record.
It directed him to deposit the cost within two weeks and gave him 15 days to file the compliance statement, warning of coercive action in case of further default.
Senior advocate Aparajita Singh, who appeared in the case, informed the court that Raina had not contacted the Cure SMA Foundation or persons suffering from Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) despite the court’s directions.
She expressed concern about his attitude and emphasized that the Foundation does not want any financial contribution from comedians.
Advocate General Tushar Mehta drew the court’s attention to Raina’s recently launched India Got Latent Season 2, where he allegedly made indirect references to the case. Mehta also objected to the use of the term “persons with disabilities” in the comedians’ statements, saying the correct term is “persons with special abilities”.
Making strong oral observations on public behavior, the bench said: “In public life, the more you respect others, the more respect you earn. You don’t humiliate people.”
Referring to Raina’s behaviour, the CJI added: “They think that sitting abroad they are outside the jurisdiction. Let them suffer now. If this is not arrogance, then we should also change the Oxford dictionary.”
The court initially considered a higher cost but finally settled on a uniform Rs 3 lakh for all the five comedians.
The bench expressed disappointment that the respondents, described as youths from respectable families, had invited the current order by their conduct.
The issue stems from the controversy over derogatory jokes made on the show India’s Got Latent, which led to petitions stressing the need for sensitivity towards disabled people.
