Supreme Court fines Samay Raina Rs 3 lakh over disability case breach

MUMBAI: The punchline landed in court and this time, the laughter stopped at the Bench. The Supreme Court has imposed a monetary penalty on comedian Samay Raina after finding that he failed to comply with its earlier directions in a case involving alleged insensitive remarks about persons with disabilities.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday imposed a Rs 3 lakh cost on comedian Samay Raina and four others for violating its previous directions, while warning that any future non-compliance would attract a significantly steeper penalty of Rs 30 lakh.

According to media reports, a Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohan observed that Raina had “taken the Court for a ride” and had “brazenly violated” its earlier order. The Bench directed him to deposit the Rs 3 lakh within two weeks.

The proceedings arise from a petition filed by the Cure SMA India Foundation, which accused Raina of making insensitive remarks about the high cost of treatment for Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) and allegedly ridiculing a person living with the condition. The petition also seeks regulation of content that allegedly undermines the dignity and rights of persons with disabilities.

In November last year, the apex court had directed Raina and the other respondents to organise at least two fundraising comedy shows every month for a corpus supporting the treatment of persons with disabilities. The Court had also instructed them to actively invite and encourage members of the disabled community to participate in these programmes.

During Tuesday’s hearing, senior advocate Aparajita Singh, appearing for the petitioner, argued that Raina had failed to contact persons with disabilities for participation despite the Court’s explicit directions. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta also criticised Raina’s conduct, questioning whether he had complied with the spirit of the order.

Appearing for Raina, his counsel submitted that the fundraising events had generated Rs 9 lakh for persons with disabilities. However, the petitioner maintained that the issue was not the money raised but the failure to ensure meaningful participation by persons with disabilities, as directed by the Court.

Justice Joymalya Bagchi observed that inviting members of the disabled community to the shows would have demonstrated genuine compliance. Merely raising funds, he remarked, created the impression that the organisers were attempting to “buy them out” rather than fulfil the Court’s intent.

Raina’s counsel responded that persons with disabilities had, in fact, been invited and that photographs were available to support the claim. He acknowledged that if the petitioner’s clients had not been approached, it was unfortunate, and assured the Bench that corrective steps would be taken.

The Supreme Court noted that it had repeatedly shown leniency because the respondents were young and came from respectable families. However, expressing dissatisfaction with the continued lack of compliance, the Bench warned that any further disregard of its directions would invite a Rs 30 lakh penalty, signalling that patience with repeated violations had run out.