NEW DELHI: In a major relief to Social media influencer and YouTuber, Ranveer Allahabadia, the Supreme Court on Tuesday directed no coercive action against him for his alleged obscene remarks made on a YouTube show 'India's Got Latent'.
A two-judge bench of the apex court, led by Justice Surya Kant and Justice N Kotiswar Singh passed the order on Allahabadia's plea under Article 32 of the Indian Constitution seeking to club various FIRs registered against him in various states including Maharashtra and Assam for his video of his controversial and alleged comments on parents and sex on social media and sought interim protection.
Abhinav Chandrachud, a lawyer representing Allahabadia mentioned the matter on last Friday before the apex court's bench, led by the Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna. He said that the petitioner has received many death threats from Maharashtra, Assam, and now Jaipur. There was a reward.
Chandrachud further said that the offence is old Section 153-A (Prompting hatred) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
To this, Justice Kant asked him, what were the parameters of obscenity/vulgarity? "If this is not obscenity in this country, then what is!? See the language you are using! You have got a license to speak all kinds of (language)?. This type of condemnable behaviour...it's not a question of an individual's morality. He is insulting his parents also! There is something dirty in this person's mind that has been spread through this program," the bench of the top court observed.
Questioning the conduct of Allahabadia, the judge went on to observe that "somebody thinks that because I have become so and so popular, I can speak any kind of words and take entire society for granted...you tell us anyone in the world who would like such words!"
Slamming him for his uttering such derogatory words, the court questioned him, you can seek cheap publicity by using abusive language?
"The words you have chosen, parents will be ashamed, sisters will be ashamed. Entire society will feel ashamed. The perverted mind. The perversion you and your henchmen have exhibited! We have a judicial system, bound by the rule of law. If there are threats, the law will take the course," the court lambasted him for his comments.
Opining that this court were not supporting this kind of language, the SC said, what embarrassment he had caused to parents.
Allahabadia also sought anticipatory bail, fearing arrest by the Guwahati police, who have already issued summons to him.
