GUWAHATI: The Supreme Court on Monday, April 28, directed the release of YouTuber Ranveer Allahabadia’s passport, which he had deposited as a condition for interim protection from arrest in cases concerning allegations of obscenity over comments made during the 'India's Got Latent' show.
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A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh issued the order after being informed that investigations into the First Information Reports (FIRs) registered in Assam and Maharashtra had concluded. The Court permitted Allahabadia to approach the Maharashtra Cyber Crime Bureau to retrieve his passport.
Allahabadia’s counsel, Advocate Abhinav Chandrachud, also sought the consolidation of the FIRs registered in Assam and Maharashtra, arguing that both arose from the same show. Justice Surya Kant, however, declined the request, observing that the FIR filed in Guwahati contained specific allegations absent in the Mumbai FIR. He questioned why a complainant based in Assam should be compelled to pursue proceedings in Maharashtra. In response, Chandrachud cited the Supreme Court's judgment in the Amish Devgan case, where FIRs arising from identical remarks were consolidated. The bench stated it would address this request at the next hearing.
The bench also took note of a separate writ petition filed by M/s Cure SMA Foundation against comedian Samay Raina over remarks concerning persons with disabilities. Earlier, the organisation had sought to intervene in Allahabadia’s case. At the last hearing, Justice Surya Kant had advised the Foundation to file an independent petition. On Monday, the bench permitted the Foundation to serve notice of its writ petition to private respondents via the Mumbai Commissioner of Police, following a submission that the addresses of the respondents could not be located.
Allahabadia had earlier surrendered his passport to the Investigating Officer at Thane Police Station, following a Supreme Court directive imposed while granting him interim protection against arrest in cases filed across multiple states. Earlier this month, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informed the Court that investigations were expected to conclude within two weeks. The Court had then indicated it would decide Allahabadia’s plea for the return of his passport and permission to travel abroad only after the investigations ended.
During the last hearing, the Court had adjourned Allahabadia’s plea by a week to allow for completion of the investigation. At that time, Advocate Chandrachud raised concerns about a press conference held by Maharashtra police officials, during which statements suggesting Allahabadia’s guilt were made.
The controversy around Allahabadia, also known as 'Beer Biceps,' arose after clips from comedian Samay Raina’s YouTube show 'India’s Got Latent' went viral. The clips, which featured explicit sexual references involving parents, attracted widespread criticism and outrage. Along with Allahabadia, comedians such as Raina himself, Ashish Chanchlani, Jaspreet Singh, and Apoorva Makhija appeared in the episode.
Following the backlash, Raina issued a public apology and deleted all episodes of the show from his YouTube channel. Allahabadia also publicly apologised, acknowledging that his remarks were inappropriate.