NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday quashed all FIRs against Samay Raina, Ranveer Allahbadia and others in connection with insensitive remarks made against persons with disabilities on the show India’s Got Latent, according to Bar and Bench.The controversy began after Allahbadia appeared on Raina’s India’s Got Latent show and made remarks that were widely criticised as obscene and offensive. Multiple complaints and FIRs followed across states, with allegations including promotion of obscenity and use of indecent language.Allahbadia approached the Supreme Court seeking consolidation of the FIRs and protection from coercive action. During the proceedings, the court strongly criticised his remarks and observed that freedom of speech did not give anyone a licence to use language that violated societal norms.The court also granted him interim protection and allowed him to seek police security after reports of death threats.
SC warns Samay Raina over Canada remarks
The matter returned to the Supreme Court in March 2025 after Raina made comments about the case during a show in Canada.On March 3, 2025, the Supreme Court sternly warned Raina against discussing the proceedings publicly and taking the court lightly.“These youngsters may think that we are outdated, but we know how to deal with them. Don’t take the court lightly,” Justice Surya Kant said during the hearing.The remarks came after Raina joked with an audience in Canada at the end of his show, saying, “Thanks for paying my lawyer’s fees.”The bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh also considered Allahbadia’s request to resume his podcast, The Ranveer Show. The court allowed him to resume the podcast while stressing the need to balance morality with freedom of expression.The court took note of Allahbadia’s submission that the podcast was his only source of livelihood and that around 280 people employed by him depended on the show.The bench also extended Allahbadia’s interim protection from arrest and directed him to join the investigation in Guwahati.
SC raps Raina, Allahbadia over non-compliance
The case again came under scrutiny on July 14, 2026, when the Supreme Court came down heavily on Raina and Allahbadia for allegedly failing to comply with its earlier directions.The court described Raina and Allahbadia as “self-styled youth icons” and expressed serious concern over their alleged non-compliance with its orders.The Supreme Court imposed a fine of Rs 3 lakh each on Raina and the other respondents and granted them two weeks to file a compliance affidavit.
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“We have no reason to doubt that Samay Raina has taken the court for a ride. He is in brazen violation of statements/ undertakings given before this court,” the court said.The CJI also observed that the respondents appeared to believe that being outside India placed them beyond the court’s jurisdiction.“Let them suffer now. If this is not arrogance, then we have to change the Oxford dictionary also,” the CJI observed.The July proceedings marked another sharp intervention by the court in the long-running controversy, months after it had cautioned Raina against making public comments about the case.
