The Supreme Court on Monday directed the release of YouTuber Ranveer Allahabadia’s passport, which had been deposited as a condition for the interim stay on his arrest in obscenity cases related to the “India’s Got Latent” show.
A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh passed the order after being informed that investigations into FIRs filed in Assam and Maharashtra against Allahabadia had been completed. The Court permitted him to approach the Maharashtra Cyber Crime Bureau for the passport’s release.
Plea To Club FIRs Deferred For Now
Allahabadia’s counsel, Dr. Abhinav Chandrachud, urged the Court to consolidate the Assam and Maharashtra FIRs, arguing that they arose from the same incident. However, Justice Surya Kant refused, pointing out that the Guwahati FIR contained unique allegations absent in the Mumbai case.
“Why a person perceived to be victim in Assam be asked to come to Maharashtra?” Justice Kant questioned.
Chandrachud cited the Supreme Court’s precedent in the Amish Devgan case, where FIRs arising from identical remarks were consolidated. The bench, however, deferred the issue, stating it would address the plea in the next hearing.
Fresh Petition From Cure SMA Foundation
During the proceedings, the bench noted that the Cure SMA Foundation had filed a separate writ petition against comedian Samay Raina over offensive remarks targeting people with disabilities. Previously, the Foundation had sought to intervene in Allahabadia’s case but was advised by Justice Kant to file an independent petition.
Senior Advocate Aparajita Singh, representing the Foundation, said they had difficulty locating the private respondents’ addresses. The Court allowed service of notice via the Mumbai Commissioner of Police.
Passport Seizure & Court Conditions
Earlier, the Supreme Court had granted Allahabadia interim protection from arrest, conditional on depositing his passport with the Investigating Officer at Thane Police Station. The Court had stated that his request to travel abroad would only be considered after the completion of investigations.
Earlier this month, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informed the Court that the investigation would conclude within two weeks. Allahabadia’s plea for passport release was adjourned once to await this process.
During an earlier hearing, Dr. Chandrachud flagged concerns over a press conference held by Maharashtra police, where officials allegedly declared Allahabadia guilty of obscenity even before filing a chargesheet.
Background
Ranveer Allahabadia, popularly known as “Beer Biceps,” was embroiled in controversy following the viral spread of clips from an episode of comedian Samay Raina’s YouTube show India’s Got Latent.
The videos, featuring Allahabadia, Raina, Ashish Chanchlani, Jaspreet Singh, and Apoorva Makhija, contained explicit sexual references related to parents, sparking widespread public outrage. In response, Samay Raina issued a public apology and deleted the show’s episodes, while Allahabadia also apologized, acknowledging the inappropriateness of his comments.
On February 10, Guwahati Police registered an FIR against five YouTubers for “promoting obscenity and engaging in sexually explicit and vulgar discussion.” Similar cases were registered by the Maharashtra Cyber Department and the Jaipur Police.
In the court, Allahabadia and Chanchlani sought the quashing or clubbing of multiple FIRs. Allahabadia received interim protection but faced stern criticism from Justice Kant, who called the YouTuber’s language “dirty” and “perverted.”
Later, restrictions on Allahabadia’s content were eased, allowing him to resume The Ranveer Show, provided he committed to uphold decency and morality standards suitable for audiences of all ages.
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