Plea to set norms for standup comedy shows
Referring to a controversial “Rs 370 biryani” remark during comedian Pranit More’s show in Gurugram, a plea was filed in the Supreme Court on Wednesday seeking direction to formulate a comprehensive regulatory framework for stand-up comedy, podcasts, social media platforms and artificial intelligence-generated content.
The plea filed by advocate Vishal Tiwari also mentioned some recent “false” information being spread online that several Indian judges and Union ministers participated in a badminton tournament in London earlier this month at taxpayers’ money.
The petition said that misleading material attained extraordinary circulation within a short span of time and generated extensive public commentary, criticism and speculation concerning the functioning, independence and propriety of constitutional institutions, before any official clarification could effectively reach the public domain.
Tiwari in his PIL said that existing legal mechanisms are predominantly reactive and become operational only after false information has already achieved irreversible virality.
“By the time fact-checks or official clarifications are issued, millions of users may have consumed, shared and relied upon inaccurate information, causing lasting reputational injury and erosion of public trust,” the plea said.
“Regardless of whether the statement originated as humour, satire, improvised interaction or entertainment content, its algorithmic amplification transformed an isolated expression into nationwide digital discourse concerning the dignity of women, consent, privacy, public morality and constitutional responsibility,” it said.
The petition has sought constitution of an expert committee for enquiry against misleading, degrading and scandalising material circulated on various social media platforms and digital publications as allegedly depicting a foreign badminton event attended by the Chief Justice of India and judges of the top court.
It has also sought constitution of an independent judicial commission headed by a retired Judge of the apex court to examine dissemination of false and manipulated digital narratives.
A Gurugram firm had earlier sacked one of its employees, who recently went viral for making the controversial “Rs 370 biryani” remark during More’s show after widespread social media outrage over the incident.
Gurugram-based web developer Himanshu Jangra faced a backlash for his comment, prompting Starvik Design, his employer, to fire him from his job, Vivek Vishwakarma, the founder of the firm, had confirmed in a video posted on X.
The controversy began after Jangra during the show recounted a date when he spent `370 on a plate of chicken biryani. When the woman asked him to drop her home, he sought sexual favours for the money he spent on the biryani, Jangra said.
More was seen laughing at Jangra’s comment. Later, both More and Jangra apologised for the incident after facing backlash on social media, with the latter also deactivating his Instagram account.
After the comment went viral, social media users termed it insensitive and derogatory towards women. Some also criticised More for not objecting to the remark and laughing it off instead.
