New Delhi, 14 August (H.S.):

The Supreme Court on Friday granted relief to comedian Samay Raina and four others in a case concerning remarks made during their comedy shows about persons with disabilities and those living with serious physical conditions. A Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant quashed the FIRs against the five comedians and appreciated the efforts being undertaken by Raina and the other accused to support persons with disabilities.

The court noted that Samay Raina and the other accused had undertaken efforts to organise awareness programmes and raise funds for persons with disabilities. In its order, the court observed that genuine efforts generally yield positive results. It said the accused were promising young individuals and expressed hope that their decision to work in the right direction would lead to constructive outcomes.

The court said it would continue hearing the matter to obtain suggestions from persons with disabilities on how content of this nature could be monitored more effectively. Based on these inputs, the court said it would consider issuing appropriate guidelines.

Apart from Samay Raina, the other comedians whose FIRs were ordered to be quashed are Vipul Goyal, Balraj Ghai, Sonali Thakkar and Nishant Tanwar.

Earlier, all the accused had been fined Rs 3 lakh each for failing to comply with the court's directions.

The court had directed the comedians to feature episodes twice a month with persons with disabilities appearing as guests or panelists. The episodes were to highlight their stories, including the difficulties and challenges they face as well as their achievements, with the objective of increasing awareness and promoting a positive representation of persons with disabilities in society.

The petition was filed by Cure SMA India Foundation. It alleged that Samay Raina had mocked persons with disabilities and sought guidelines for regulating online-show content that allegedly violated the rights of persons with disabilities.

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar