More legal trouble for Samay Raina as Supreme Court questions him over ‘disturbing’ jokes mocking disability on IGL
The trigger for the court’s involvement was a petition filed by the Cure SMA Foundation of India, which raised concerns about the content of the roast show.
The Supreme Court has taken cognizance of certain remarks made by comedian Samay Raina regarding individuals with disabilities on his show India's Got Latent (IGL). During a hearing, the court stated that it was “really disturbed” by the comments, which are alleged to have mocked visually impaired individuals and a child diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a serious and life-threatening condition.
These remarks surfaced in an episode of a roast comedy show that also featured YouTuber Ranveer Allahbadia. Samay, who has already been under public scrutiny following Ranveer’s joke on the show has now been officially added as a party in the ongoing legal case. The court noted that the jokes in question were made in poor taste, and pointed to rising public concern over content that may cross ethical lines or fail to uphold standards of inclusivity.
A key point of concern was Samay’s reference to a baby in need of a ₹16 crore injection to survive. “We are really disturbed by the allegations. We place such instances on record… implead the concerned persons… suggest measures. Then we will see,” Justice Surya Kant was quoted as saying during the proceedings.
The remarks were flagged in a petition by the Cure SMA Foundation of India, which also urged the court to take note of the broader issue of exorbitant drug prices for rare diseases.
For the unversed, on the show, Raina recounted what he described as a “crazy” charity case involving a two-month-old baby who required an extremely expensive injection. He then turned to a woman in the audience and said, “Ma’am, you tell me… if you were that mother and one day ₹16 crore appeared in your bank account… while you had a two-month-old… wouldn’t you at least look at your husband once and say…‘Hmmm… inflation is rising’.”
