SC seeks responses from Maharashtra, Assam on YouTuber Ashish Chanchlani’s plea to quash FIR

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The Supreme Court on Friday sought responses from the governments of Maharashtra and Assam regarding a petition filed by popular YouTuber Ashish Chanchlani.

The YouTuber has requested the quashing or transfer of an FIR lodged against him in Guwahati for allegedly promoting obscenity in an online show.

A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh issued a notice on the matter and ordered that Chanchlani's plea be tagged along with a similar petition filed by influencer Ranveer Allahbadia, which is currently pending before the court.

At the outset, the bench informed Chanchlani's counsel that the YouTuber had already been granted bail in the case.

His lawyer acknowledged this but argued against multiple FIRs being lodged in connection with a single online show.

According to PTI, Chanchlani contended that registering multiple cases for the same content was unjust and legally questionable.

The Supreme Court, which is already hearing the issue, decided to club Chanchlani's plea with Allahbadia's case, PTI reports.

Earlier, on February 18, the apex court had granted interim protection from arrest to podcaster and YouTuber Ranveer Allahbadia - commonly known as BeerBiceps - over his remarks made during a YouTube show.

The court had described his statements as "vulgar" and remarked that he had a "dirty mind" that brought shame to society.

According to PTI, multiple FIRs have been registered against Allahbadia for his comments on sex and parents, which were made on comic Samay Raina's YouTube show India's Got Latent.

His remarks have drawn significant backlash, leading to legal action.

As per PTI reports, in Chanchlani's case, the Gauhati High Court granted him interim bail on Tuesday while hearing his anticipatory bail petition.

The court directed him to present himself before the investigating officer within ten days.

(With inputs from PTI)