Read Time: 10 minutes

Synopsis

The Supreme Court of India, on Monday (March 3, 2025), allowed YouTuber and podcaster Ranveer Allahbadia, popularly known as 'BeerBiceps,' to resume his podcast, The Ranveer Show, subject to the condition that he shall adhere to the required standards of morality and decency, ensuring that the content is suitable for viewers of all age groups.

Court passed the following order while hearing Allahbadia's plea seeking clubbing of FIRs filed against him across multiple states for his comments at comedian Samay Raina's India's Got Latent YouTube show. 

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh ordered, "As per the order dated February 18, 2025, the petitioner and his associates were restrained from airing any show on YouTube or any other mode of communication. However, subject to the petitioner furnishing an undertaking that his podcast shows will maintain the required standards of morality and decency, making them suitable for viewers of all age groups, he shall be permitted to resume The Ranveer Show."

Court further reiterated that the condition imposed upon Allahbadia were modified, keeping in view the fact that the livelihood of around 280 employees depended on the telecast of his podcast. Addressing Allahbadia's second prayer, which pertained to allowing him to travel abroad, the court said that such a request would be considered only after he joins the probe and is no longer required for the investigation.

Today's Hearing

Senior Advocate Abhinav Chandrachud, appearing for Ranveer Allahbadia, urged the court to modify the condition imposed on Allahbadia that prohibited him and his associates from airing any show.

"This is his source of livelihood, not comedy. Milord, I understand that he has no sense of humour. But he interviews personalities, sportsmen, spiritual leaders, politicians, etc. He won't be able to afford legal representation for himself if this condition continues," Chandrachud added.

Responding to this, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Union Government, the State of Maharashtra, and the State of Assam, said, "It is not just vulgar, it’s perverse. Out of curiosity, I also watched the show in which he participated. Humor is one thing, vulgarity is another, and perversion is yet another level. A man or woman cannot watch this show together. The learned Attorney General and I cannot watch this show together. Even Your Lordship cannot watch this show. The language used, the level of humor, and the very fact that he chose to be a part of it, let me remain silent on that."

SG Mehta further emphasised the need for guidelines, stating, "Something needs to be done, Lordship. There have to be some guidelines. Our notions of morality are different from other countries."

While acknowledging the concern, Justice Surya Kant said, "We don’t want any regulatory regime that eventually leads to censorship, but to say that it is free-for-all. That's very dangerous. Humour is something the entire family can sit and watch without feeling embarrassed.

Court Suggests Regulatory Measures

Observing that some form of regulatory measures might be necessary to address concerns, the court ordered, "Learned AG and SG submit that, in order to regulate the airing of programmes that are not acceptable in terms of known moral standards of our society, some regulatory measures may be required. We have suggested the SG to deliberate upon and suggest some regulatory measures which may not influence the right to freedom of speech and expression but, at the same time, are also effective enough to ensure that the parameters of fundamental rights, as delineated in Article 19(4), are maintained. Any draft regulatory measure in this regard can then be put in the public domain to invite suggestions from all stakeholders."

During the last hearing, the top court had granted interim protection from arrest to Ranveer Allahbadia in connection with multiple First Information Reports (FIR) filed against him for his controversial remarks.

What is the Controversy?

The controversy erupted when Allahbadia passed obscene remarks during his guest appearance on the YouTube show India's Got Latent, a talent show hosted by comedian Samay Raina.

Following this, a complaint was filed with the Mumbai Commissioner and Maharashtra Women's Commission against Ranveer Allahbadia, Samay Raina, and media influencer Apoorva Makhija for allegedly using abusive language on the show.

Subsequently, Himanta Biswa Sarma, Assam Chief Minister, took to X, popularly known as Twitter, and posted, "Today @GuwahatiPol has registered an FIR against certain Youtubers and social Influencers, namely 1. Shri Ashish Chanchlani 2. Shri Jaspreet Singh 3. Shri Apoorva Makhija 4. Shri Ranveer Allahbadia 5. Shri Samay Raina and others for promoting obscenity and engaging in sexually explicit and vulgar discussion in a show titled ' India's Got Latent'."

He added that "the Guwahati Crime Branch had registered a case vide Cyber PS case no 03/2025 under sections - 79/95/294/296 of BNS 2023 read with Sec 67 of IT Act, 2000, read with Section 4/7 of Cinematograph Act 1952 read with Section 4/6 of ⁠Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986."

Case Title: Ranveer Gautam Allahabadia versus Union of India