'Samay Raina brazenly violated our orders': SC slaps ₹3L fine
What's the story
The Supreme Court has imposed a ₹3L fine on comedian Samay Raina for allegedly making false statements before the court and failing to comply with its previous orders in connection with the India's Got Latent controversy. A bench comprising Indian Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi, and Justice J.V. Mohana directed Raina to deposit the amount within two weeks. Four other comedians-Vipul Goyal, Balraj Paramjeet Singh Ghai, Sonali Thakkar, and Nishant Jagadish Tanwar-were also penalized with the same amount.
Non-compliance
Raina yet to reach out to SMA patients
The top court noted on Tuesday, "We believe (comedian) Samay Raina has taken court for a ride, brazenly violated our orders."
The issue arose during the hearing of petitions filed by content creators Ranveer Allahbadia and Ashish Chanchlani, along with the Cure SMA Foundation.
Senior Advocate Aparajita Singh informed the court that Raina had allegedly failed to reach out to the Cure SMA Foundation or individuals suffering from Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), despite assurances given before the court.
Allegations
Raina recently mocked legal proceedings in a show: Solicitor General
Singh said, "Samay Raina is doing shows, but has not contacted the SMA Foundation or persons suffering from SMA as per the court's order. I don't know what kind of youth icon he is. I shudder to think."
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, also raised concerns over Raina's conduct.
He referred to one of Raina's recent performances where he appeared to mock ongoing legal proceedings without naming anyone.
Court's remarks
'They think sitting outside the country...'
The CJI expressed strong disapproval of Raina's actions, saying some people think they can escape Indian law by staying abroad.
"They think sitting outside the country, they are beyond jurisdiction."
"Let them suffer now. If this is not arrogance then we have to change the Oxford dictionary also," he said.
Notably, the SC had summoned Raina last year for mocking the disabled, per a petition by Cure SMA Foundation. This was filed as an intervention application in the Latent case.