NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday closed criminal proceedings against comedian Samay Raina and four other social media personalities over remarks concerning people with disabilities, while recognising their subsequent efforts to promote awareness and dignity for the community.Along with Raina, the court quashed the FIRs and related proceedings against comedians Vipul Goyal, Balraj Paramjeet Singh Ghai, Sonali Thakkar and Nishant Jagdish Tanwar.The proceedings stemmed from jokes made by the five, which were flagged by the M/s SMA Cure Foundation, an organisation working with people affected by Spinal Muscular Atrophy and other rare diseases.The case took a different turn after the Supreme Court asked the influencers to take constructive steps towards supporting people with disabilities. The court noted that they had since organised a chess tournament for specially-abled people in March and helped raise awareness about organisations working with people with disabilities.The bench, comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, said their efforts appeared to be producing positive results.“Once there are genuine efforts, positive results are bound to be there,” the bench said as per news agency PTI.“They are very bright youngsters. If they have started working in the positive direction, they will bring positive results,” it added.Senior advocate Aparajita Singh, appearing for the SMA Cure Foundation, told the court that the influencers had made “genuine efforts” and had attempted to engage with the foundation following the court’s earlier intervention.“This matter was going nowhere till this court took a very strong stand last time,” Singh said.The court subsequently quashed the FIRs and other criminal proceedings against the five and said their case was now closed.However, the Supreme Court said it would separately examine the larger question of how the dignity of people with disabilities can be better protected and whether comprehensive directions are required.The court’s observations came a day after the CJI and other judges met a delegation of people with disabilities from different fields.“It was quite a learning and an eye-opener for us also,” the CJI said, adding, “We have requested them to send their suggestions also.”“It was quite a satisfying experience what we saw yesterday and what we interacted,” he said.The delegation included 20 people, among them Paralympians and athletes such as Nidhi Mishra, Ankur Dhama and Major D P Singh, as well as Chhonzin Angmo.
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During Friday’s hearing, the bench also noted that the influencers had engaged in meaningful discussions with the SMA Cure Foundation and were willing to invite people living with SMA to their shows.More programmes are also planned to raise funds for people affected by the condition.The influencers had earlier volunteered before the Supreme Court in November to organise at least two events every month, either online or in person, to raise money for a proposed corpus that could provide financial assistance to people living with SMA.The court’s decision therefore brings the criminal proceedings against the five to an end, while leaving the broader question of protecting the dignity of people with disabilities open for further consideration.
