'India's Got Latent' row: SC to take up podcaster Allahbadia's petition on Tuesday

The Supreme Court will take up on Tuesday podcaster Ranveer Allahbadia’s petition against multiple FIRs filed against him over his controversial comment on parents and sex on Samay Raina's YouTube show 'India's Got Latent'.

Allahbadia’s petition is listed before a Bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice N Kotiswar Singh which had on March 3 allowed the podcaster to resume his 'The Ranveer Show' on YouTube after he undertook not to use profane words and maintain "morality and decency".

“Subject to the petitioner (Ranveer) furnishing an undertaking that his own shows will maintain the standards of decency and morality, so that viewers of any age group can watch, the petitioner is permitted to resume 'The Ranveer Show’,” it had said, adding his prayer for permission to travel abroad shall be considered after he joined the investigation.

Extending the interim protection from arrest granted on February 18 shall till further orders; it had said that Ranveer’s show shall not have direct or indirect bearing on the sub-judice cases.

The top court also directed to come up with a draft regulatory mechanism on social media content and put it in the public domain to invite suggestions from all stakeholders. It had also exempted him from further appearance.

Noting that there was a legislative vacuum on the issue, the Bench had said it would like to do something, if the Centre didn’t do anything. It had issurf notice to the Centre and sought the assistance of Attorney General R Venkataramani and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta.

The top court’s order had come after advocate Abhinav Chandrachud submitted on behalf of Ranveer that the YouTuber has moved an application seeking lifting of a part of the previous order restraining him from airing his shows.

“He Ranveer) has no sense of humour at all… but he has 280 employees and it (his show) is his livelihood,” Chandrachud had submitted, urging the top court to permit him to resume his show subject to the condition that he would utter no profane words.

Ranveer’s remarks on parents and sex on comedian Samay Raina's YouTube show 'India's Got Latent' triggered a controversy, leading to several FIRs being lodged against him in Maharashtra, Assam and Rajasthan.

In the eye of the storm over his comment about parents and sex during an episode of stand-up show 'India's Got Latent', the podcaster got a major relief on February 18 from the Supreme Court which protected him from arrest in multiple FIRs lodged against him.

The Bench had, however, pulled him up for his irresponsible comments. Terming his comment as a “height of lack of responsibility” and a “condemnable behavior,” the Bench said, “Just because somebody thinks 'I am popular, I can speak anything and take society for granted'."

"You tell us anyone on the Earth would like these kinds of words to be told? You (Allahbadia) are insulting people, parents also. We don't want to say, (but) there’s something very dirty in his mind that has been vomited by way of this program,” the Bench had said.