The Supreme Court on Monday sought the personal presence of five social media influencers, including India’s Got Latent host and stand-up comedian Samay Raina, in connection with a plea filed by an NGO alleging that they ridiculed individuals suffering from Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), a rare genetic disorder.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh directed the Commissioner of Police, Mumbai, to serve notices on the five influencers to ensure their appearance before the court. The bench cautioned that coercive action would be initiated in case of non-compliance.

The plea, filed by the NGO Cure SMA Foundation of India, sought judicial intervention to regulate social media content concerning persons with disabilities and those affected by rare disorders.

Describing the alleged conduct as "very, very damaging and demoralising", the court said such incidents undermine years of efforts made through statutory measures to bring disabled individuals into the mainstream. "With one incident, the entire effort goes," the bench remarked.

“This is very, very damaging and demoralising. There are statutes which try to bring these people into the mainstream, and with one incident, the entire effort goes. You should think of some remedial and punitive action within the law,” the bench told senior advocate Aprajita Singh, appearing for the NGO.

The top court also sought the assistance of Attorney General R Venkataramani on the broader issue, observing that while the right to freedom of speech and expression is constitutionally protected, it cannot be exercised to demean others, particularly vulnerable communities.

Noting deficiencies in the existing legal framework, the court said it was considering framing guidelines to regulate online content related to persons with disabilities and rare disorders to prevent such instances in the future.

The matter will be taken up for further hearing after the influencers respond to the court’s notice.

(With inputs from PTI)