Big relief for Ranveer Allahbadia: SC orders release of passport
What's the story
In a major relief to YouTuber and famous podcast host Ranveer Allahbadia, the Supreme Court of India on Monday ordered the release of his passport.
The bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh made the decision after the Assam and Maharashtra governments assured that the investigation against Allahbadia was complete.
The top court allowed BeerBiceps to approach the Maharashtra Cyber Crime Bureau with an application in this regard.
Case proceedings
Court to consider clubbing of FIRs against Allahbadia
Meanwhile, during the proceedings, the court told senior advocate Abhinav Chandrachud, appearing for Allahbadia, that it would consider his plea to club the FIRs against his client into one on the next hearing.
On February 18, the top court had granted Allahbadia interim protection from arrest in multiple FIRs registered over his comments on a YouTube show.
It also asked him to deposit his passport with the investigating officer of the Police Station Nodal Cyber Police, Thane.
Podcast resumption
Allahbadia's podcast 'The Ranveer Show' allowed to resume
On March 3, the apex court allowed Allahbadia to restart his podcast The Ranveer Show, as long as he observes "morality and decency" in his content.
Allahbadia, popularly known as BeerBiceps, had sparked controversy for his offensive comments on a YouTube show hosted by comedian Samay Raina, India's Got Latent.
Earlier, the SC had restrained Allahbadia from airing any program of his podcast directly/indirectly pertaining to the merits of the pending cases.
Information
What had Allahbadia said?
To refresh your memory, the internet personality had asked a contestant on IGL if he would watch his parents have sex for the rest of his life or stop it by joining them for once. After the clip went viral, social media users lambasted Allahbadia for such a vile comment, and by extension, the entire show and its comedy came under scrutiny. Allahbadia, Raina, and other panelists apologized later, but that wasn't enough for the public.
Related
Supreme Court also issued notice regarding explicit content online
Notably, the Supreme Court schooled Allahbadia for his lewd comments on the show, calling them "dirty and perverted."
The court also asked the Centre what it thought about taking action against obscene content on YouTube and other social media platforms.
Further, the court sought help from the Attorney General and the Solicitor General in the matter.
In a related development, the SC on Monday issued notices to the Centre alongside major OTT and social media platforms regarding streaming obscene content.