‘Flying Beast’ Gaurav Taneja calls action against ‘Beer Biceps’ Ranveer Allahbadia ‘very harsh’, says, ‘YouTube mazey se game dekh raha hai’

Gaurav spoke about why this is a criminal case and not a civil case, and why multiple state governments have gotten involved. He also spoke about whose responsibility it is to investigate cases, and why those same rules don’t apply to online crimes. The India’s Got Latent issue is a criminal investigation, and because it revolves around an online show, it can be investigated by the police departments of multiple states where FIRs have been filed.

Also read – Ranveer Allahbadia loses followers, likely to lose brands; ‘Flying Beast’ Gaurav Taneja says ‘Samay Raina won’t stop till he gets YouTube India cancelled’

“People who didn’t say anything offensive have also been named in the FIRs, and later, we found out that past guests have also been named,” he said, citing the ‘Common Intention’ clause: “When a criminal act is done by several persons in furtherance of the common intention of all, each of such persons is liable for that act in the same manner as if it was done by him alone.” He continued, “This case is important because it can set a precedent. Any judgement that is passed on this case, if it reaches the Supreme Court, will effectively become the law, because it will be cited in every future case involving online content creators.”

He said that Ranveer Allahbadia was able to approach the Apex Court because he is citing the violation of his Fundamental Right to Speech and Expression, which is a part of Article 32. In such cases, a person can approach the Supreme Court directly, Gaurav said. He added that while every citizen has the Fundamental Right to Speech and Expression, there are certain ‘reasonable restrictions’ involved. For instance, a person cannot cross boundaries of ‘decency and morality’, but this is up for interpretation.

He also explained the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Sections under which the police have imposed the FIRs, and said that they will pursue the case under the ‘morality and decency’ restrictions, and the ‘common intention’ clause. He said that Section 296 has been invoked. The Section ‘aims to maintain public decency’, and ‘deals with obscene acts and songs in public places’. Section 196, he said, ‘criminalises speech or actions that promote hatred or enmity between groups’. He also said that the ‘most important’ Section 79 deals with ‘insulting a woman’s modesty through words, gestures, sounds or objects’.

Last week, the Supreme Court barred Ranveer from airing “any show” till further orders. “There is something that is dirty in his mind that has been vomited by way of this programme… The words you have chosen, parents will feel ashamed, daughters and sisters will feel ashamed, brothers will feel ashamed, entire society will feel ashamed, the pervert mind and the perversion you and your henchmen have exhibited,” said Justice Surya Kant, presiding over a two-Judge bench that included Justice NK Singh.