The Supreme Court has granted protection from arrest to YouTuber and podcaster in relation to several FIRs registered against him for a crude joke he passed on comedian ‘s ” show. While granting relief to Ranveer, the Supreme Court criticised Allahbadia for “vomiting dirt in his mind”, and directed him to refrain him from doing any other shows for the time being.
The bench, which also included Justice N Kotiswar Singh, laid stress on the fact that his words would make daughters, sisters, parents, and society feel “ashamed”, and referred to him as a prime example of “perverted” thinking.
Irrespective of the criticism, the Supreme Court bench had agreed to grant Ranveer Allahbadia protection from arrest, after senior advocate Abhinav Chandrachud’s submission. For the unversed, Abhinav had argued that the YouTuber should not be arrested as several FIRs were filed over the same issue.
Justice Surya Kant asked Abhinav, “Are you defending the kind of language he has used?” Abhinav admitted to being “disgusted” by the comments made by Ranveer, but also argued that profanity alone does not necessarily constitute criminal conduct.
“As an officer of the court, I personally am disgusted by what the petitioner has said but whether it rises to the level of a criminal offence is another question,” Abhinav Chandrachud was quoted as saying by BarandBench.The Supreme Court bench then asked Abhinav to explain what would constitute obscenity. In his response, Abhinav said, “If something excites, in the words of the court, lustful thoughts or sexual thoughts in the mind of a reasonable person, that would be obscenity.”
The Supreme Court also directed that no further FIRs be filed against Ranveer Allahbadia over his controversial remarks on the show India’s Got Latent. The court also banned him, along with his associates, from airing any more episodes of the show until further orders.
