Delhi, 27 November (H.S.): The Supreme Court has ordered comedian Samay Raina, along with Vipul Goyal, Balraj Ghai, Sonali Thakkar, and Nishant Tanwar, to conduct at least two fundraising events every month dedicated to supporting people with disabilities and those suffering from serious physical ailments like Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA). This directive follows complaints regarding insensitive and mocking content about the disabled in Raina’s comedy shows.

The Court mandated that these comedians should also feature disabled guests or panelists in their shows, sharing their stories of challenges, resilience, and achievements to foster awareness and positive societal attitudes toward disabled individuals.

Earlier, the Court had instructed the government to formulate social media guidelines that balance freedom of expression with accountability of influencers, aiming to prevent recurrence of such incidents while addressing future needs.

The case was filed by Cure SMA India Foundation, highlighting violations of disabled rights through offensive digital content, prompting the need for regulatory measures. The Supreme Court further emphasized that sincere portrayal of disabled persons’ accomplishments would encourage engagement and aid fundraising efforts for their timely treatment.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar