The Supreme Court on Monday allowed YouTuber and podcaster Ranveer Allahbadia to air his "The Ranveer Show" as long as it maintained "morality and decency" and was appropriate for all ages.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh took note of Allahbadia's claim that the podcast was his sole source of income, and that the show supported approximately 280 individuals he hired.
The bench also extended the interim protection from arrest granted to the 31-year-old podcaster, popularly known as The BeerBiceps Guy, till further orders, while asking him to join investigation in Guwahati.
Solicitor general Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre and states like Maharashtra, Assam and Odisha, said the comments made on the contentious YouTube show "India's Got Latent" was not only vulgar but perverse and urged the court not to modify the condition of not airing any show.
"Let him remain silent for sometime," he said.
The bench told senior advocate Abhinav Chandrachud, who was representing Allahbadia, that fundamental rights were not (served) on a platter and came with certain restrictions.
Justice Surya Kant pointed out one of the accused in the case went to Canada and spoke on the case.
“These youngsters may think that we are outdated but we know how to deal with them. Don’t take the court lightly,” the judge cautioned.
Also read: Haryana police arrest suspect in Congress worker's murder
The bench subsequently restrained Allahbadia from speaking anything related to the case on his show.
The Centre in the meantime was directed to come up with a draft regulatory mechanism on social media content, which should be put in public domain aside from gathering suggestions from all stakeholders.
The bench, however, refused to allow him to travel abroad for now and said his prayer would be considered once he joined the investigation in the case.
Several FIRs were lodged against Allahbadia, popularly known as BeerBiceps, for his remarks on parents and sex on comic Samay Raina's show "India's Got Latent".
On February 18, the top court granted interim protection from arrest to Allahbadia while calling his comments "vulgar" and saying he had "dirty mind" which put the society to shame.
Follow us
