New Delhi: Pulling up YouTube celebrity Ranveer Allahabadia for exhibiting “perversion”, the Supreme Court on Tuesday called for regulation or maintaining decency in the content of YouTube channels and social media platforms.
The apex court also offered Allahabadia a temporary shield against arrest in cases registered across the country for promoting obscenity.
A bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice N. Kotiswar Singh, while hearing Allahabadia’s plea to club FIRs and seek anticipatory bail against possible arrest by Guwahati police, issued a notice to the Union government on the issue of addressing the “vacuum” in the domain of regulation of online content.
“We would like to do something. If the Government will willingly do it, we will be very happy,” said the court, adding that it may not overlook the importance and sensitivity of the issue.
The bench also sought the assistance of Attorney General R. Venkataramani and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to address the sensitive issue in the next hearing.
Before offering Allahabadia temporary protection from arrest and blocking further police cases against him, the court hit out at him. “There is something dirty in his mind that is spread by this programme,” it said, demanding to know “why should the court entertain such persons”.
Allahabadia has kicked up a nationwide outrage with his comments about parents and sex during an episode of a live-streamed show, “India’s Got Latent”, on YouTube.
The court was stinging in its criticism of the YouTube personality, saying that just because somebody thinks “I am popular, I can speak anything and take society for granted”.
“The words you have chosen… parents will be ashamed, and sisters will be ashamed. The entire society will feel ashamed,” it said.
The court told Allahabadia to deposit his passport with police in Maharashtra’s Thane and warned him not to try to leave the country without the court’s nod.
On his claim of receiving death threats, the court asked him and his family to approach Maharashtra and/or Assam Police for “protection of life and liberty, in case of threats”.
On February 10, Guwahati police registered an FIR against 5 YouTubers and content creators for “promoting obscenity and engaging in sexually explicit and vulgar discussion”. Similar complaints have been filed by the Maharashtra Cyber Department and Jaipur police.