The Supreme Court on Tuesday said that insensitive jokes, mocking disabled people, violate their right to dignity and indicated its intention to lay down guidelines for stand-up comedians.The bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi heard a petition filed by SMA Cure Foundation, accusing comedians Samay Raina, Nishant Jagdish Tanwar, Vipun Goyal, Balraj Paramjeet Singh Ghai and Sonali Thakkar a.k.a. Sonali Aditya Desai of making insensitive jokes that mocked the disabled.During the proceedings, the bench said that Article 19, which provides freedom of speech and expression, cannot overpower Article 21, which guarantees the right to dignity that emanates from the right to life and liberty. The court said, “Article 21 must prevail if any competition takes place,” and invited suggestions from the public and bar for laying down a framework so that the dignity of disabled people and others is not violated.The court also directed comedians Raina, Goyal, Ghai, and Tanwar to appear in person at the next hearing, while permitting comedian Sonali Thakkar, also known as Sonali Aditya Desai, to join virtually.According to reports, the bench recorded their presence and granted two weeks’ time to file replies to the petition filed by the NGO, Cure SMA Foundation, representing individuals with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), a rare genetic disorder. The court also warned that no further extensions would be granted and stated that any absence during the next hearing would be “viewed seriously.”Addressing broader concerns about online content, the bench directed Attorney General R Venkataramani to assist in preparing guidelines for digital platforms that protect both freedom of expression and the rights of marginalised communities. Venkataramani sought time to deliberate, noting that enforceability would require detailed consideration. “What we are doing is for posterity. You have to ensure that not a single word is misused by anyone. You have to ensure balance. We have to protect citizens’ rights. A framework must be there so that the dignity of anyone is not violated,” the bench said, as reported by ANI. The petitioner alleged that the comedians, during their digital shows, mocked individuals suffering from SMA and other disabilities, and trivialised the high cost of treatment for such rare conditions.The court had earlier summoned the comedians on May 5 after the petition flagged videos in which Raina and others allegedly made “offensive, denigrating, and dehumanising” remarks about persons with disabilities.“The petitioner is concerned by certain live and pre-recorded event videos of these individuals, due to their offensive, denigrating, and dehumanising representation of persons with disabilities,” the NGO stated. It argued that such content not only violated Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution, but also guaranteed the right to equality and dignity. It also fell within the reasonable restrictions outlined in Article 19(2), which governs free speech.It also asked the court to put a positive obligation on both the government and private actors to adopt a unique standard of representation of persons with disability in the online domain.The court also issued notices to the Union of India through the Ministries of Information and Broadcasting, Electronics and Information Technology, Social Justice and Empowerment, as well as industry bodies like the News Broadcasters and Digital Association and the Indian Broadcasting and Digital Foundation.
