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India's Got Latent row: Supreme Court protects Ranveer Allahbadia from arrest, bars him from doing shows
Ranveer Allahbadia received interim protection from arrest by the Supreme Court regarding his obscene comments on a YouTube show.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted interim protection to podcaster Ranveer Allahbadia from arrest in connection with alleged obscene remarks he made on comedian Samay Raina's YouTube show 'India's Got Latent', even as the court reprimanded him for his indecent remarks.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh also restrained Ranveer Allahbadia from airing any further YouTube shows.
The Supreme Court said no further FIR shall be registered against him on the basis of the episode aired on show 'India's Got Latent'.
Ranveer Allahbadia had moved the Supreme Court against the FIRs lodged over his alleged comments during the show.
The top court asked him to deposit his passport with police, and directed that he can’t leave the country without permission from the court.
Ranveer Allahbadia has been asked to cooperate in the probe of FIRs lodged in Maharashtra, Assam over his alleged distasteful comments.
During the hearing, the apex court, however, pulled up the influencer for his alleged distasteful comments during the show. It questioned the language used by Ranveer Allahbadia, saying society has some values.
“What are the values of society? What are these parameters, do you even know,” the court asked.
“There is something dirty in his mind which has been vomited on YouTube show,” it added.
The court told Ranveer Allahbadia that “society has some self-evolved values. You need to respect them”.
“In the name of freedom of speech, no one has a licence to speak whatever they want against norms of society. Words you have used will make daughters, sisters, parents, and even society feel ashamed,” the Supreme Court said.
“If this is not obscenity, what is it? Why should we quash or club FIRs against you,” the court said.
On Friday, Allahbadia's lawyer Abhinav Chandrachud had mentioned the matter for urgent listing.
“I have assigned the bench and it will come up (before a bench) in two-three days,” Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna had said when Chandrachud submitted that the Assam Police has summoned Allahbadia for joining the probe during the day.
Ranverr Allahbadia's comments stirs outrage
Allahbadia's remarks on parents and sex on comedian Samay Raina's YouTube show 'India's Got Latent' triggered a controversy. and several FIRs have been lodged against him and others in various parts of the country.
Besides Allahbadia and Raina, others named in the case in Assam are Ashish Chanchlani, Jaspreet Singh and Apoorva Makhija.
(With inputs from agencies)
