By Suman Rodrigues: The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Centre to prepare guidelines for social media influencers and comedians to prevent offensive content against disabled persons women children and senior citizens. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi said freedom of expression must be exercised responsibly and should not come at the cost of human dignity.

The court also directed five influencers including comedian Samay Raina to issue a public apology on their platforms for mocking individuals with disabilities. The matter was taken up after a petition by Cure SMA Foundation of India which said the influencers made derogatory remarks against persons with spinal muscular atrophy and other conditions.

The bench noted that Raina’s affidavit initially tried to justify his actions instead of showing remorse. It asked the influencers to state how much penalty they were ready to pay which could be used for treatment of rare genetic disorders. The case will be heard further.