GUWAHATI: The Supreme Court on Friday, February 21, sought responses from the Assam and Maharashtra governments regarding a plea by YouTuber Ashish Chanchlani to transfer the obscenity case registered against him in Guwahati to Mumbai.
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The FIR was lodged in connection with allegations of promoting obscenity on the show India’s Got Latent, where podcaster Ranveer Allahbadia is the primary accused. The Bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotishwar Singh noted that Chanchlani had already been granted anticipatory bail by the Gauhati High Court.
Chanchlani’s counsel argued that the plea aimed to club multiple FIRs related to the same incident. “We are basically on which FIR should be considered,” the counsel stated. The court then issued notices to the two states and tagged the matter with a similar plea filed by Allahbadia.
The controversy stems from an episode of India’s Got Latent, shot on November 14, 2024, at Khar Habitat but aired recently. The episode featured the use of abusive language by panelists, including Chanchlani, Allahbadia, comedian Samay Raina, and others. Following a complaint, an FIR was lodged against Chanchlani at the Cyber Police Station, Guwahati Crime Branch, on February 10.
He has been booked under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including Section 79 (words, gestures insulting the modesty of a woman), Section 95 (hiring/employing a child to commit an offence), Section 294 (sale of obscene objects to a child), and Section 296 (obscene acts and songs).
Additionally, charges have been filed under the Information Technology Act, 2000, the Cinematograph Act, 1952, and the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986.
The Supreme Court had also earlier granted interim relief from arrest to Allahbadia but prohibited him and the other accused individuals from airing any shows until further orders.
