NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday directed five social media influencers, including comedian and India’s Got Latent host Samay Raina, to issue a public, unconditional apology on their respective platforms for mocking individuals with disabilities and rare genetic disorders, PTI reported.A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi stressed that freedom of speech does not extend to commercial content that targets or offends marginalized communities.”Freedom of expression must be exercised responsibly,” the court observed, adding that social media content cannot come at the cost of human dignity.The influencers are accused of ridiculing persons affected by Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), visual impairments, and other disabilities during their podcast episodes and online content.The court also slammed Raina’s affidavit, noting that it initially attempted to justify his actions rather than express genuine remorse. The bench warned that penalties may be considered against the accused at a later stage.
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