Supreme Court Summons Comedians Over Derogatory Content Against Persons with Disabilities
Background of the Case On Tuesday, the Supreme Court of India directed several stand-up comedians— Samay Raina , Vipul Goyal , Balraj Paramjeet Singh Ghai , and Nishant Jagdsish Tanwar —to appear personally before the court in response to allegations of making insensitive and derogatory remarks against persons with disabilities . Comedian Sonali Thakkar (aka Sonali Aditya Desai) was allowed to appear virtually in the next hearing. The directive stems from a petition filed by M/s Cure SMA Foundation of India , an NGO working for persons affected by Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA). The petition raises serious concerns over online content that allegedly ridicules individuals with disabilities , in particular those living with rare disorders like SMA. Supreme Court’s Observations and Warnings A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi recorded the presence of all five comedians during the hearing and gave them two weeks to file replies . The bench made it clear tha...