The Supreme Court will hear on Tuesday a plea by YouTube personality Ranveer Allahbadia, aka 'BeerBiceps Guy', to club FIRs filed across various states, including Maharashtra and Assam, over controversial remarks he made on stand-up comedy show 'India's Got Latent'.
A bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice N Kotiswar Singh will hear the case.
Mr Allahbadia - who faces police inquiries, had been summoned by the National Commission for Women, and may also face a Parliament panel - moved the Supreme Court last week, asking that FIRs against him be combined. He also sought anticipatory bail to ward off arrest from Guwahati Police.
He also sought an urgent hearing, a request Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna turned down.
READ | YouTuber Ranveer Allahbadia Goes To Supreme Court Over FIRs
Mr Allahbadia, who runs a popular podcast on YouTube and is widely followed on social media, was supposed to appear before the NCW this morning, but, as with the summons from Mumbai Police, he skipped the call. He later claimed death threats stopped him from travelling to the NCW meet.
READ | Ranveer Allahbadia Skips NCW Hearing Over "Death Threats"
He has now been summoned again on March 6.
Death Threats Against 'BeerBiceps Guy'
The social media personality on Saturday confessed to feeling "scared" by the threats to his life but insisted he would not back down. "I am watching death threats pour in from people saying they want to kill me... hurt my family," he said, also claiming an 'invasion' of his mother's medical clinic.
"I am feeling scared, and I don't know what to do... But I am not running away. I have full faith in the police and the judicial system of India," he said in a post on his Instagram handle, @beerbiceps.
READ | "Scared, But Not Running": Ranveer Allahbadia's New Post Amid Row
He also said he had cooperated with the police and "will be available to all agencies".
The controversy broke after Mr Allahbadia's comment about parents and sex during an episode of 'India's Got Latent'. The remarks sparked fury online, against him and the show's producers, hosts, and participants, many of whom also face police cases and have been summoned for questioning.
Two others - show host Samay Raima and participant Apoorva Makhija - also got threats; both have been named in the police cases, as has Ashish Chanchalani, another social media influencer.
READ | Mumbai, Assam Cops At Ranveer Allahbadia's Home. But Door Is...
After he failed to appear before the cops, teams from Mumbai and Guwahati Police went looking for him at his home in the former city, only to find the door locked and the social media personality - whose requests to record his statement at his home had been turned down - missing.
So far, the Mumbai cops, acting on a complaint from a BJP functionary, have recorded the statements of seven individuals; these include Ms Makhija and Mr Chanchalani. Separate investigations are being conducted by Guwahati Police and Maharashtra's Cyber Department.
Mumbai Police has not filed a case so far.
Ranveer Allahbadia Apologises
After the row broke, Allahbadia offered an apology and blamed a lapse in judgement.
"My comment wasn't just inappropriate... it was not even funny. Comedy is not my forte, I am just here to say sorry," he said in a video message. He also acknowledged he had misused his platform. "I am not going to give any context or justification or reasoning behind whatever happened. I am just here for an apology. I personally had a lapse in judgement. It wasn't cool on my part," he said.
On Saturday, apologising again for his remarks, Mr Allahbadia said, "My remark about parents was insensitive and disrespectful and I am genuinely sorry".
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