“The entire society feels ashamed,” SC berates YouTuber Ranveer Allahbadia, grants interim protection from arrest in FIRs for obscene remarks during the ‘India’s Got Latent’ show

Today (February 18, 2025), the Supreme Court (SC) of India was hearing the matter related to the obscene remarks made by YouTuber Ranveer Allahbadia during the ‘India’s Got Latent’ show. He approached the top court seeking relief from multiple FIRs lodged against him in various states for the offence of obscenity. The bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice N Kotiswar Singh heard the matter and granted him interim protection from arrest in the FIRs registered at Mumbai, Guwahati, and Jaipur. Also, the SC directed that no further FIR be registered in connection with the show ‘India’s Got Latent’. While granting interim protection, the bench ordered Ranveer Allahbadia, popularly known as Beer Biceps, to cooperate with the investigation. Along with this, the SC bench directed that the interim protection is subject to the condition that the petitioner or his associates will not air any other show till further orders. 

During the hearing, the SC bench severely berated YouTuber Allahbadia for his language and said, “There has to be a height of lack of responsibility. This kind of condemnable behavior … that somebody thinks himself that 'I can, because now I have become so and so popular and therefore I can speak any kind of words and that I can take the entire society to be granted.” The bench added, “You tell us anyone on the earth would like these kind of words to be told. You are insulting people, parents also. We don't want to say, there is something very dirty in his mind that has been vomited by way of this program…The words which you have chosen, parents will feel ashamed. Daughters and sisters will feel ashamed. Your younger brothers will feel ashamed. The entire society feels ashamed. The kind of words… the perverted mind and the perversity you and your henchman have executed.”

Justice Kant asked the petitioner’s counsel, Dr. Abhinav Chandrachud, “Are you defending the kind of language?” He replied, “As an officer of the court, I personally am disgusted by what the petitioner has said but whether it rises to the level of a criminal offence is another question.” The bench; therefore, asked Dr. Chandrachud to explain what constitutes obscenity. While relying on the top court’s judgment in Apoorva Arora’s case, he replied, “If something excites, in the words of the court, lustful thoughts or sexual thoughts in the mind of a reasonable person, that would be obscenity.” Disagreeing with the same, the Court said, “It's not the question of arousing the lustful thoughts. The question of what is ultimately what is the parameters of the vulgarity in a particular ... where ... it's not the question of personal opinion .. but in a case where the society has broadly some self-evolved values and where yourself as a senior and responsible citizen commit ourselves to behave within those parameters. What are those parameters or values we would like to know from the petitioner and so-called the artist ... that how do you behave yourself.” 

Furthermore, Justice Kant asked, “If this is not obscenity, then what is obscenity? Is the judgment [in Apoorva Arora case] a license to say whatever you want?” He added, “There is something very dirty in his mind, which has been vomited by him in the program...He is insulting parents also. Why should the Courts favor him?” Dr. Chandrachud informed the bench that his client was receiving death threats. Justice Kant said that the State will take care of that, “If you can try to attain cheap publicity by saying these kind of things, there might be others also who might want to get cheap publicity by making threats.” Justice Kant also said, “We are not sitting in ivory towers. We know he has copied from Australian program... there are certain societies where they warn you. There are adult channels they they warn you that children are not to watch this kind of program, the patients, the elder people may also not watch this program, they will give you a warning even to those who have little more kind of a moral fabric, even they will warn them also that the contents may not be convenient for you. They will maintain all these precautions.” After hearing the matter, the SC bench granted Ranveer Allahbadia interim protection from arrest.