The Supreme Court on Friday issued a notice on a petition filed by YouTuber Ashish Chanchlani, seeking to quash or transfer an FIR registered against him in Guwahati for allegedly promoting obscenity in an online show.
A bench comprising Justice Surya Kant and Justice N Kotiswar Singh tagged Chanchlani’s petition along with that of podcaster Ranveer Allahbadia, the primary accused in the case for his controversial remarks on the YouTube show India’s Got Latent.
During the hearing, the Bench noted that Chanchlani had been granted bail by the Gauhati High Court and that the FIRs stemmed from the same show, where Allahbadia had already been granted interim relief earlier in the week.
Significantly, on February 18, the Supreme Court stayed Allahbadia’s arrest while condemning his remarks as “vulgar,” stating that he had a “dirty mind, which put society to shame.”
The Apex Court directed that he must fully cooperate with the investigation without legal representation inside the police station.
Chanchlani, in his writ petition, has challenged the FIR lodged at the Cyber Police Station, Guwahati Crime Branch, Assam, seeking either its quashing or transfer to Mumbai, where a similar case was registered earlier. His legal counsel argued that he made no objectionable remarks during the show and that the allegations primarily targeted his co-accused.
The FIR, filed by Guwahati Police on February 10, invokes provisions of the Bhartiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS), the Information Technology Act, the Cinematograph Act, and the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act.
The Supreme Court is expected to hear the matter further in the coming weeks.
