The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted interim protection from arrest to podcaster Ranveer Allahbadia over his comments on a YouTube show while calling it "vulgar" and saying he had "dirty mind" which put the society to shame.
Several FIRs were lodged against Allahbadia, popularly known as BeerBiceps, for the comment on parents and sex on comic Samay Raina's YouTube show India's Got Latent.
"Where is the question of an individual's morality? We can understand if one person says I don't like these kinds of words. You tell us, if there is anyone on earth who would like these kinds of words. You are insulting parents… We don't want to say anything further but there is something very dirty in his mind that has been vomited by him in this kind of a programme. Why should the court entertain this kind of person? You please tell us," said Justice Surya Kant.
A bench of Justice Kant and N Kotiswar Singh told senior advocate Abhinav Chandrachud, who was representing Allahbadia, "The words you have chosen, the parents will feel ashamed, daughters and sisters will feel ashamed, your younger brother will feel ashamed, the entire society will feel ashamed."
While granting the interim relief, the bench restrained Allahbadia or his associates from airing any other show till further orders and said, "Stop this show business for the time being."
The bench further asked, "We would like to know, in this country if this is not obscenity then what is the standard of obscenity?"
Justice Surya Kant said Allahbadia should be ashamed about the embarrassment he had caused his parents through his language used on the show.
Chandrachud said personally he was disgusted by the petitioner's utterances but asked if it attracted criminal prosecution.
"What is that level that you should invite the criminal proceedings or prosecution? What are the words, according to which you invite criminal prosecution?" the bench retorted.
The court went on to add, "The society has broadly some self-evolved values where you as a responsible citizen commit yourself to behave in those parameters."
Justice Surya Kant further asked, "What are those parameters and values? We would like to know from the petitioner and other artists who have joined him. How do you behave yourself? According to them, what are those parameters of Indian society?"
Chandrachud referred to a top court ruling and said it was held that anything that gave rise to disgust or revulsion would not amount to obscenity, and profanity would also not amount to obscenity.
If something gives rise to lustful thoughts or sexual thoughts in the mind of a reasonable person, that would be obscenity, he said.
The bench however said, "There has to be a height of lack of responsibility. This is condemnable behaviour. Somebody thinks he has become so popular and therefore I can speak any kind of words and I can take the entire society for granted."
Chandrachud agreed with the court's view as he couldn't defend morality being disgusted himself.
The bench said only because there was a judgement in petitioner's favour (defining obscenity), he did not have a license to speak vulgarly.
"We are aware of that judgement, which is in your favour. Therefore, does it give you the license to speak all kinds of vulgarity? Can he speak his depraved mind anywhere and anytime. Is this the standard? Has that judgement given you a license to utter such language. Just see the language you are using," it added.
Chandrachud referred to the threats issued to Allahbadia by a former wrestler and former legislator and said it prevented him to go to different states, where FIRs were lodged.
"If you can try to get cheap publicity by using all abusive language, then someone giving threats also wants to be popular. Everyday this happens," the bench.
The bench disapproved of the threats and said it was not a people's court where one could pronounce anyone guilty.
"Nobody will appreciate these kinds of statements. If somebody commits anything wrong, law must take its own course. We have a judicial system and we are going by the law. We are not encouraging these kinds of statements, threats. If they are doing it, law will take its own course. Whatever preventive measures are required to be taken, the state must take it. It is not the people's court that they can hold someone guilty. There is a system in place that will take its own course. We strongly disapprove of this part," said Justice Surya Kant.
Calling the former wrestler's threat as inconsequential and made for cheap publicity, the judge said the "poor fellow" might not be getting a match to play.
"Wrestlers are very innocent players," he said.
The bench directed Allahbadia to deposit his passport in the Thane police station restraining him from leaving the country without its permission.
While directing Allahbadia to cooperate in the probe of the FIRs, the bench sought responses from the Centre, Maharashtra and Assam governments on his plea seeking clubbing and quashing of FIRs.
It posted the matter on March 3.
On February 17, a case was registered in Guwahati by a resident for alleged promotion of obscenity in a publicly accessible online show.
Aside from Allahbadia and Raina, others named in the case in Assam are comics Ashish Chanchlani, Jaspreet Singh and Apoorva Makhija.
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