SC directs Samay Raina to invite disabled people with success stories on shows, raise funds for their treatment

The Supreme Court on Thursday directed comedian and YouTuber Samay Raina, along with three other comedians, to invite persons with disabilities who have inspiring success stories to appear on shows hosted on their platforms, in order to raise funds for the timely and effective treatment of disabled people, according to ANI.

This came after Cure SMA Foundation filed a plea seeking directions against comedians making insensitive remarks against disabled people.

As per LiveLaw, the plea said, “We are a charitable trust, run by the parents of the affected disabled...in one of the programmes of Samay Raina, the children were ridiculed....mylords may see.”

The Chief Justice of India, Surya Kant, noted that regarding the issue raised by CURE SMA, senior advocate Aparajita Singh had submitted a brief note outlining the success stories of individuals who were the subjects of the inappropriate and avoidable YouTube shows made by some creators.

‘Social, not penal burden’

Surya Kant said it had been properly understood that there should be a dedicated fund set up by the ministry concerned, and that this fund could be publicised to encourage corporations to contribute generously toward the treatment of persons with disabilities, including those affected by spinal muscular atrophy (SMA).

The CJI said that the Court hoped a few such memorable events would be held before the matter was taken up next. He explained that the Court was placing a social responsibility, not a penal one, on the comedians, noting that they were well-established figures in society.

"We hope and expect that such few memorable events will take place before we hear the matter next. It’s a social burden we are putting on you (comedians) not penal burden. You are all well-placed persons in the society. If you have become too popular, then share it with others,” ANI quoted CJI Kant as saying.

Kant said, “The private respondents has proposed to organised atleast 2 events a month to generate funds, they have also seek permission of this court to invite the persons whose success stories have been brought on record to the show...we leave it to the respondents to pursue and invite the specially abled persons to the show for the cause of generating funds to the specially abled persons.”

The court’s involvement stemmed from several instances in which comedy platforms reportedly featured derogatory comments. A key trigger occurred in the sixth episode of India’s Got Latent, where contestant Santosh Patra delivered jokes that demeaned people with disabilities, a report by Statesman noted.

The situation escalated when the judges initially approved these remarks, leading to widespread backlash online. Another contentious participant was Banti Banerjee, who appeared and won on the tenth episode. Her act contained jokes that many viewers considered offensive, including remarks about celebrities’ mental health as well as personal attacks on public figures.

In one segment, Banerjee made a remark about actress Deepika Padukone’s experiences with motherhood and her past battle with depression.

She said, “Now she knows what depression really looks like. Actual depression happens when your sleep breaks, and your kid wakes in the middle of the night at 3 am, and the kid wants to eat, poop, or play, in any order.”

Banerjee later acknowledged that she had deliberately mocked Padukone’s depression following her breakup. Even host Samay Raina reacted to the controversy with a comment on Instagram, stating, “To everyone who is outraging on Twitter, one request: Could you please outrage in my YouTube comment section so I get some ad revenue from the traction, at least.”