New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday quashed all FIRs registered against comedian Samay Raina and four others over controversial remarks concerning persons with disabilities made during an episode of the show India’s Got Latent.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant, along with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana, noted that the directions issued by the court earlier in the case had been complied with. These included organising awareness programmes and contributing to initiatives aimed at supporting persons with disabilities.
Besides Raina, the FIRs against Vipul Goyal, Balraj Paramjit Singh Ghai, Sonali Thakkar (also known as Sonali Aditya Desai) and Nishant Jagdish Tanwar were also quashed.
The court ordered that the criminal proceedings against the five respondents be closed and that all connected proceedings also stand terminated.
Court notes efforts to engage with disability community
The Supreme Court appreciated the efforts undertaken by the respondents to engage with persons with disabilities and organise programmes aimed at raising awareness and mobilising funds for disability-related initiatives.
Senior advocate Aparajita Singh, appearing for petitioner Cure SMA India Foundation, told the bench that the earlier directions had resulted in a “genuine effort to engage” and that the parties were discussing ways to highlight the initiatives and achievements undertaken by the respondents.
The court subsequently brought the proceedings against the five respondents to an end.
