India's Got Latent row: Supreme Court directs return of Ranveer Allahbadia's passport

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday allowed podcaster Ranveer Allahbadia to reclaim his passport to travel abroad over work. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh relaxed the condition after Assam and Maharashtra governments said the investigation against the influencer in the "India's Got Latent" case was complete.
The bench asked Allahbadia to approach the Maharashtra cyber police bureau for his passport, according to news agency PTI.
The apex court also told senior advocate Abhinav Chandrachud, appearing for Allahbadia, that on the next hearing, it would consider Allahbadia's prayer for clubbing the FIRs registered against the YouTuber, and bring it in one place.
On February 18, the Supreme Court protected Allahbadia from arrest in multiple FIRs filed over his comments during an episode of India's Got Latent. It also directed him to deposit his passport with the investigating officer of Police Station Nodal Cyber Police, Thane.
On March 3, he was allowed to resume his podcast "The Ranveer Show" subject to maintaining "morality and decency," and making it "suitable" for viewers of all ages.
The apex court had initially restrained Allahbadia, popularly known as "BeerBiceps," from airing any programme of his podcast. This was done to avoid any "direct or indirect" bearing on the merits of the sub-judice cases he was involved in.
On February 18, the top court granted interim protection from arrest to Allahbadia while calling his comments "vulgar" and saying he had "dirty mind" which "put the society to shame."
Aside from Allahbadia and comedian Samay Raina, who created India's Got Latent, others named in the case in Assam are comics Ashish Chanchlani, Jaspreet Singh and Apoorva Makhija.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court bench also allowed Cure SMA Foundation, a Gururgam-based patients support association, to file a separate petition impleading Raina, social media influencers, and persons who have been "ridiculing" physical and other deficiencies in people to create bias in society towards them.