The
Supreme Court on Thursday directed Samay Raina and several other comedians to
organise at least two events every month to raise money for a special fund
created for the treatment of persons with disabilities, Bar and Bench reported.
A
Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi
issued the order while hearing a petition filed by the Cure SMA India
Foundation. The Foundation sought action against online content that it said
violated the right to life and dignity of persons with disabilities.
The
organisation accused Raina of making insensitive comments about the high cost
of treatment for Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) and allegedly mocking a person
with disability. Similar allegations were also made against other comedians
named in the case, the news report said.
The
apex court noted that in line with earlier directions, the respondents,
including Raina, Vipul Goyal, Balraj Paramjeet Singh Ghai, Sonali Thakar and
Nishant Jagdish Tanwar, had volunteered to hold fundraising events. They also
sought permission to highlight positive stories of persons with disabilities.
The
Bench said that it would be up to the comedians to convince persons with
disabilities to participate in these programmes.
Quoting from the order,
the top court said, "We leave it to respondents 6 to 10 to persuade and
invite the specially abled persons on their platforms to promote the cause of
generating funds to provide timely treatment to specially abled including those
suffering from SMA. We are confident that if respondent 6 to 10 show sincerity
about showing their achievements... they will also come on the platform for
wider publicity of their cause."
"We
hope and expect that such few memorable events will take place before we hear
the matter the next date. Let such two programs be held twice a month,"
the court stated.
In
August, the apex court had instructed Raina and others to publish public
apologies on YouTube and other platforms for their remarks about persons with
disabilities. They were also summoned before the court at that time.
During
an earlier hearing, Senior Advocate Aparajita Singh, representing the
Foundation, suggested that content creators should use their platforms to
amplify issues faced by persons with disabilities.