Samay Raina faces Supreme Court heat over disability remark

Mumbai: Samay Raina, the ideator of "India's Got Latent", is facing legal trouble once more as the Supreme Court expressed concern over his alleged insensitive remarks about an infant with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a severe medical condition.

This controversy follows a previous incident involving fellow comedian Ranveer Allahbadia's controversial joke on the same show. Raina has now been added to the ongoing legal proceedings related to that case.

Sharing concern over Raina's remark about the disabled, Justice Surya Kant stated, "We are really disturbed by the allegations. We place such instances on record... implead the concerned persons... suggest measures. Then we will see."

SC's reaction comes after an intervention application was submitted by the Cure SMA Foundation of India, which highlighted the exorbitant costs of drugs used to treat spinal muscular atrophy (SMA).

Among these life-saving treatments is Zolgensma, a one-time gene therapy priced at approximately Rs 16 crore, making it inaccessible to the majority of the population.

The application criticised Samay Raina's alleged remarks, arguing that it was inappropriate to make light of the fact that fundraising is often the only option for underprivileged families to afford such medicines.

The foundation emphasised the need for "the highest degree of sensitivity and compassion" when discussing the struggles faced by individuals suffering from SMA.

During his show, "India's Got Latent", Raina pointed out a charity case of a two-month-old baby. He said "something crazy" had happened, "A two-month-old baby requires a Rs 16 crore injection."

Addressing a woman in the audience, he added, "Ma'am, you tell me... if you were that mother and one day Rs 16 crore appeared in your bank account... while you had a two-month-old... wouldn't you at least look at your husband once and say...'Hmmm... inflation is rising'.

(inputs from IANS)