‘Behave, or else…’: Supreme Court’s tough message to Samay Raina, Ranveer Allahbadia amid India’s Got Latent row
The Supreme Court on Monday, March 3, issued a tough message to YouTubers and comedians Samay Raina and Ranveer Allahbadia embroiled in “India’s Got Latent row”. “Behave, or else we know how to deal with you,” Justice Surya Kant warned the YouTubers while hearing Ranveer Allahbadia’s plea.
The Supreme Court also blasted comedian Samay Raina for discussing the controversy surrounding his show ‘India’s Got Latent’ in Canada, saying the young generation thinks they are “over smart”.
“These young and oversmart ones think they know more than this…One of them went to Canada and spoke about all this,” Justice Surya Kant said.
“Possibly, they do not know the jurisdiction which this court enjoys,” Justice Surya Kant added, warning the Youtubers to “behave”.
The top court has allowed Ranveer Allahbadia to resume airing ‘The Ranveer Show’ after YouTuber BeerBiceps noted that the videos and podcasts were his ‘only source of livelihood’.
The Supreme Court also said there is a “need to balance morality and freedom of expression”. The court also asked the Centre to keep this in mind before laying down guidelines for digital content in the aftermath of the massive row.
The controversy erupted after Ranveer Allahbadia, popularly known as “The BeerBiceps”, made a crass remark about “parental sex” during an episode of the show.
The comment sparked outrage across social media and Parliament, leading to multiple FIRs and legal proceedings against the creators and other participants, including Ashish Chanchlani, Jaspreet Singh, and Apoorva Mukhija. The episode was subsequently removed from YouTube.
Supreme Court Criticism of Samay Raina
During the hearing of Allahbadia’s petition seeking permission to resume his podcast, The Ranveer Show, Justice Kant disapproved of Raina’s light-hearted comments abroad. While performing on his Samay Raina Unfiltered tour in Canada, the comedian joked with the audience, saying, “Thanks for paying my lawyer’s fees.”
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta added that Samay Raina had made fun of the court proceedings during his performance. Justice Kant responded sharply, remarking that such individuals might not fully comprehend the court’s jurisdiction.
Fallout of India’s Got Latent Controversy
In response to the backlash, Samay Raina deleted all India’s Got Latent episodes from his YouTube channel and assured full cooperation with authorities. He later admitted that the situation was overwhelming for him to handle. Allahbadia also issued a public apology, acknowledging that his remarks were “not just inappropriate but also not even funny.”
