Authority: Supreme Court of India, Civil Original Jurisdiction

Order Date: 14 August 2026

Case Overview

  • Petitioners: Ranveer Gautam Allahabadia, Ashish Anil Chanchlani (criminal writ petitions) and M/s. Cure SMA Foundation of India (civil writ petition).
  • Respondents: Union of India and others; State of Guwahati and others; private comedians identified as Respondent Nos. 6 to 10.
  • Criminal writ petitions (Nos. 83/2025 and 85/2025) stemmed from allegedly obscene comments in an internet‑published comedy series, leading to three FIRs across Thane (Maharashtra), Guwahati (Assam) and Jaipur (Rajasthan).
  • Civil writ petition (No. 460/2025) was filed by the NGO concerned with demeaning content towards persons with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA). Five comedians were impleaded as respondents.
  • Interim protection from arrest was initially granted to the petitioner in W.P. Cr 83/2025, subject to passport deposit and suspension of further shows; conditions were relaxed on 03‑03‑2025 and 28‑04‑2025, permitting resumption of streaming and passport release.
  • The Court later mandated physical presence of the comedians; after unconditional apologies on 25‑08‑2025, the requirement was relaxed.
  • Compliance affidavits filed by the comedians were found lacking; consequently, on 14‑07‑2026 the Court imposed costs of Rs 15 lakhs, which have been deposited with the Registry.
  • Subsequent compliance affidavits disclosed: (i) at least two fundraising events per month, generating a corpus of approximately Rs 12.55 lakhs; part of this amount already donated to the NGO, with willingness to donate the remainder; (ii) a ‘Super Heroes Cup’ chess tournament for differently‑abled persons held 14‑03‑2026 to 16‑03‑2026 in Pune, organized by Chess Base India, sponsored by Grandmaster P. Harikrishna; (iii) ongoing constructive discussions with the NGO for a specialised SMA awareness programme and consent‑seeking from SMA warriors.
  • Senior counsel Ms. Aparajita Singh suggested creation of a dedicated corpus of funds by the Union of India for SMA patients; the Court noted that such a matter requires a separate proceeding.

Final Outcome

1. Quash of the following FIRs and any related proceedings: FIR No. 05/2025 (P.S. Nodal Cyber Police, Thane, Mumbai District), FIR No. 03/2025 (P.S. Cyber Police Station, Guwahati District), FIR No. 29/2025 (P.S. Cyber Police Station, Jaipur Commissionerate), and any other criminal complaints arising from the incident.

2. Petitioners in the criminal writ petitions may move the appropriate court for discharge of their bail bonds.

3. Costs of Rs 15 lakhs imposed on Respondent Nos. 6‑10 are to be transferred to Cure SMA Foundation for its charitable activities.

4. The remaining corpus of Rs 12.55 lakhs generated from fundraising events is to be donated to the NGO, as evidenced by the demand draft submitted by Ms. Madhavi Diwan.

5. The civil writ petition is deemed concluded with respect to the respondents; the petitioner may initiate contempt proceedings if further disparaging content is published.

6. The criminal writ petitions are disposed of; no further FIRs shall be filed, and the matter is closed.

7. The Court directs the Registry to file a Suo‑Moto writ titled “In Re: Lack of Adequate and Systematic Treatment for SMA Patients and Other Ancillary Issues” to enable a cohesive view of SMA treatment challenges.

8. The Registry is instructed to issue notice to the Union of India through the Attorney General, returnable on 08‑10‑2026, and Ms. Aparajita Singh is invited to assist as amicus curiae.

Topics: Online Speech Regulation, Disability Welfare