India’s top court has imposed a £2,327 penalty on comedian Samay Raina, accusing him of ignoring directions issued by it after he was found to have ridiculed people with disabilities.
A non-profit which supports people living with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) and advocates for access to treatment for the rare genetic disorder, petitioned the Supreme Court in April last year.
The Cure SMA India Foundation accused Raina and several other comedians of mocking people living with disabilities and SMA on his YouTube show India’s Got Latent.
SMA is an inherited neuromuscular disorder that causes progressive muscle weakness and, in severe cases, can be life-threatening.
The petition cited a routine in which Raina joked about the ₹160m (£1.24m) cost of a life-saving SMA injection for a two-month-old baby, according to NDTV.
The petition also cited remarks about a visually impaired person, arguing that the jokes demeaned disabled people, reinforced harmful stereotypes, and undermined public fundraising efforts for treatment.
Senior advocate Aparajita Singh, appearing for the foundation, told the court the remarks had damaged public empathy for people living with SMA, many of whom rely on crowdfunding to afford treatment costing millions of rupees.
The court last year directed Raina and the other comedians to publish unconditional apologies and indicate what financial contribution they were prepared to make as atonement.
It later ordered them to organise at least two programmes every month highlighting the achievements of people with disabilities and raising money for their treatment, describing the requirement as “a social burden” rather than a punishment, according to PTI.
On Tuesday, a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana said Raina had failed to comply with those directions after hearing submissions from Singh that he had neither contacted Cure SMA India Foundation nor invited people with disabilities to participate in his shows, despite assurances given to the court.
“We have no reason to doubt that Samay Raina has taken the court for a ride. He is in brazen violation of statements given before this court,” the bench said. “The misconduct is sought to be compounded by stating that a compliance affidavit was filed yesterday, however, no affidavit has been filed.”
The bench also criticised what it described as Raina’s conduct while he was outside India.
“They think sitting outside the country they are beyond jurisdiction. Let them suffer now. If this is not arrogance, then we have to change the Oxford dictionary also,” Chief Justice Kant said.
The bench initially indicated it was inclined to impose costs of ₹1m (£7,755) on each of the respondents before reducing the amount to ₹300,000 (£2,327). It warned that the penalty would increase to ₹3m (£23,267) if it was not satisfied with compliance at the next hearing, according to NDTV.
Fellow comedians Vipul Goyal, Balraj Paramjeet Singh Ghai, Sonali Thakkar, and Nishant Jagdish Tanwar are also named in the petition.
During the hearing, Singh said Raina had never contacted the foundation or involved people with disabilities in his shows despite the court’s earlier directions. She said the foundation no longer wished to be associated with him, adding: “I don’t know what kind of youth icon he is. I shudder to think so.”
The bench criticised Raina's failure to engage with the foundation, telling his counsel: "You should have invited the client represented by Ms Singh and done the show.”
“If you used their disability to showcase your fundamental right to commercial speech... What about their fundamental right to dignity?” the bench asked, according to The Hindu.
Raina’s lawyer said the foundation had not been contacted because his client did not have its address, adding that people with disabilities had nevertheless been invited to some events.
He described the failure to approach the organisation as “unfortunate” and told the court he would impress upon Raina the need to comply with its earlier directions.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Indian government, also accused Raina of mocking the ongoing proceedings.
He told the court that the comedian had said at a recent show that he now hung a nimbu-mirchi, a traditional lemon-and-chilli charm believed by some to ward off bad luck.
Last year, India’s Got Latent triggered a nationwide backlash after guest panellist and YouTuber Ranveer Allahbadia asked a contestant a sexually explicit question that closely resembled one from an episode of Australian YouTube comedy group OG Crew’s Truth or Drink.
Allahbadia’s remarks prompted multiple police complaints, criminal cases against him, Raina, and several others associated with the show, and renewed debate in India over online content regulation. Allahbadia later apologised, saying the joke was “not funny” and admitting it was a lapse in judgement.
Raina has built a following for an irreverent, crowd-work style of stand-up that frequently pushes the boundaries of taste, with India’s Got Latent featuring contestants alongside a rotating panel of comedians, YouTubers, and celebrities who often trade improvised insults and dark humour.
Before the Allahbadia row, the show had already faced criticism over remarks about people with disabilities, depression and residents of the north-eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh.
Despite the controversies, India’s Got Latent returned for a second season in June 2026, with new episodes premiering simultaneously on Netflix and YouTube.
