'Rs 370 biryani' remark: SC seeks Centre, states' response on comedian Pranit More's plea

The Supreme Court on Monday sought responses from the Centre and the Maharashtra and Haryana governments on comedian Pranit More's plea seeking clubbing of FIRs registered against him over the controversial "Rs 370 biryani" remark made during a show in Gurugram.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana issued notices after More's counsel told the court that the comedian had apologised before all forums, including the National Commission for Women.

The counsel said More was seeking that the Gurugram FIR be clubbed with the one registered in Mumbai and that he was willing to face trial.

"I have apologised before all the forums, and I was just the host of the show. I understand the gravity of the situation," the counsel said.

He also told the court that More had deleted the video after learning about the controversy and claimed it had been published by his public relations team without his approval.

"Even before the FIR was registered, as soon as I got to know about the gravity of the situation, I deleted the video. I was travelling at that time, and the PR team that I have, they did not take my approval before publishing the video," the counsel said.

The controversy erupted after web developer Himanshu Jangra, who was attending More's show in Gurugram, recounted an incident involving a Rs 370 plate of chicken biryani.

According to Jangra's account, after spending the money on biryani during a date, he sought sexual favours from the woman when she asked him to drop her home. More was seen laughing at the remark during the show.

The video of the incident later went viral on social media, drawing criticism from users who described the remark as insensitive and derogatory towards women. More was also criticised for laughing at the comment rather than objecting to it.

Jangra subsequently faced repercussions at his workplace. Starvik Design, a Gurugram-based firm, sacked him from his job as a web developer following the social media backlash. The company's founder Vivek Vishwakarma confirmed the termination in a video posted on X.

More and Jangra later apologised over the incident. Jangra also deactivated his Instagram account following the backlash.

More has now approached the apex court seeking that the FIRs arising from the same incident be clubbed, with his counsel maintaining that he was prepared to face the proceedings.