Supreme Court Fines Samay Raina, Others ₹3 lakh For Violating Orders To Publicize Cause Of Specially Abled Persons

The Supreme Court of India has today fined ₹3 lakh each on stand up comic and YouTuber Samay Raina, Vipul Goyal, Balraj Ghai, Sonali Thakker and Nishant Tanwar for not inviting 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.

A Bench Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana passed the order after it was told that Raina had not invited any disabled persons to his show which was one of the directions given by the Court earlier.

"We have no reason to not believe that Samay Raina has taken the court for a ride and has brazenly violated the orders of this court. The misconduct is further compounded stating that an affidavit is filed when nothing is on record...cost is for non-compliance of court order and no affidavit..make it 3 lakhs. If you don't comply we will add one zero...," court ordered today.

Justice Bagchi further added, "Your show deals with humour it deals with right to happiness. But you are only on right to material happiness.."

CJI went on to tell the comedians, "As an artist you are in public life. In public life respect is an investment, more you give others the more you receive.."

A CJI Surya Kant led bench was hearing a petition filed by NGO Cure SMA Foundation seeking regulation of online content & action against Comedian Samay Raina & others for allegedly mocking persons with disabilities. Court had earlier also asked the Central government to come out with a legislation for disabled persons similar to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.

In August 2025, Supreme Court had pulled up Comedian Samay Raina and others over the apology submitted by them for allegedly mocking persons with disabilities. "The apology must always be proportional to the disrespect caused..", Justice Surya Kant led bench of the Supreme Court said today. Justice Kant had further observed, "Today we have an unfortunate case of disabled, tomorrow it can be women, then children then senior citizens...where this society will land..".

Earlier, Supreme Court had taken strong exception to comedian Samay Raina’s alleged mockery of the exorbitant treatment cost for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), stating that such ridicule could not be passed off as humour or satire when it demeans persons with disabilities. During the hearing, Senior Advocate Aparajita Singh, appearing for NGO Cure SMA Foundation, sought to intervene and pressed for regulatory mechanisms to curb offensive speech targeting the disabled community.

Singh had told the court that comedian Samay Raina’s remarks ridiculing the Rs 16 crore cost of SMA treatment for infants had a damaging psychological and social effect, diminishing public empathy and hampering fundraising for treatment. The senior counsel also cited instances where Raina allegedly mocked a visually impaired individual and referred to a video clip where former cricketers Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, and Suresh Raina were seen limping and holding their backs to mimic injuries, allegedly trivializing disability. “These clips are merely the tip of the iceberg,” Singh argued, adding that persons with disabilities are routinely made objects of pity or derision in popular media, which violates their right to dignity under Article 21 of the Constitution.

Taking cognizance of the issue, court had directed the NGO to compile and submit a list of such incidents, along with video transcripts and suggestions for remedial measures. “Free speech cannot be a license to demean vulnerable communities under the guise of satire,” the bench had observed.

Case Title: M/S. Cure SMA Foundation of India vs. Union of India & Ors

Hearing Date: July 14, 2026

Bench: CJI Surya Kant, Justice Bagchi and Justice Mohana