The Supreme Court on Monday allowed popular podcaster and YouTuber Ranveer Allahbadia to reclaim his passport to travel abroad for work purposes, following confirmation from the Assam and Maharashtra governments that investigations against him in the “India’s Got Latent” case were complete.
A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh relaxed the earlier conditions imposed on Allahbadia, asking him to approach the Maharashtra Cyber Police Bureau to retrieve his passport, PTI reported.
The court also indicated that during the next hearing, it would consider Allahbadia’s plea to club multiple FIRs filed against him and consolidate them into one location. Senior advocate Abhinav Chandrachud appeared for Allahbadia in the proceedings.
Earlier, on February 18, the Supreme Court had granted Allahbadia interim protection from arrest in connection with multiple FIRs lodged over his controversial comments during an episode of India’s Got Latent. The court had directed him to deposit his passport with the investigating officer of the Nodal Cyber Police Station in Thane and had restrained him from airing new episodes of his podcast, The Ranveer Show, to ensure there was no influence on the sub-judice matters.
However, on March 3, the apex court allowed Allahbadia to resume his podcast with strict conditions: the content must maintain “morality and decency” and be “suitable for all age groups.”
During previous observations, the court criticized Allahbadia’s comments as “vulgar,” accusing him of having a “dirty mind” that “put the society to shame.”
Alongside Allahbadia — popularly known by his online name “BeerBiceps” — others named in the Assam FIRs include comedians Samay Raina (the show’s creator), Ashish Chanchlani, Jaspreet Singh, and Apoorva Makhija.
In a related development, the Supreme Court also permitted the Cure SMA Foundation, a Gurugram-based patient support group, to file a separate petition. The group seeks to implead Raina, other influencers, and individuals accused of ridiculing physical and other disabilities, allegedly fostering societal bias.
