Elnaaz Norouzi thrilled as release date for her Apple TV+ show "Tehran 2" announced

Highlights

• The Supreme Court ordered five influencers to pay £2,800 each for ignoring directives related to disability awareness.
• Comedians were strongly criticised for prioritising monetised commercial speech over the dignity of vulnerable groups.
• Judges warned that the penalty could surge to £28,300 if the creators continue to disregard court instructions.
• The Bench called for tighter online regulations, including Aadhaar-based access controls, to restrict the monetisation of sensitive content.

The pursuit of internet virality has clashed directly with judicial standards of basic human respect, as India's highest court penalised five digital creators for failing to honour their own commitments. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court imposed financial penalties on comedian Samay Raina and four fellow internet personalities. The ruling stems from a case involving offensive remarks about Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) and physical disabilities broadcast on the reality show India's Got Latent, signalling that the judiciary will not tolerate the monetisation of discriminatory content under the guise of entertainment.

A failure to honour commitments

A Bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant, alongside Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohan, ordered Mr Raina, Sonali Thakkar, Vipul Goyal, Balraj Paramjit Singh Ghai, and Nishant Jagdish Tanwar to pay £2,800 in costs each. The penalty was issued after the group ignored an August directive to host people with disabilities on their digital platforms twice a month and actively raise funds for children with rare disorders. Chief Justice Kant remarked that the creators were in "brazen violation" of their previous undertakings, stating that Mr Raina appeared to have taken the court for a ride.