Senior advocate Abhinav Chandrachud, son of former Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud, is representing YouTuber and podcaster Ranveer Allahbadia in the Supreme Court, where multiple FIRs have been filed against him in connection with his participation in a controversial episode of comedian Samay Raina’s show, ‘India’s Got Latent’. The episode, which featured several well-known YouTubers and content creators, has sparked legal trouble, prompting Allahbadia to approach the apex court for relief.
On Friday, Abhinav Chandrachud mentioned the matter before a Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna, seeking an urgent hearing. He informed the court that multiple complaints had been registered against Allahbadia across India and that the Assam Police had summoned him for questioning on Friday. The legal issue has gained national attention, with allegations of promoting obscenity and engaging in sexually explicit discussions being leveled against the participants of the show.
A bench comprising Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar, however, refused to permit oral mentioning for urgent listing despite Chandrachud’s plea. The CJI, in response to the request, stated that the matter had already been assigned to a bench and would be heard in due course, likely within two to three days. Meanwhile, the Guwahati Police have taken swift action by filing an FIR against five content creators—Samay Raina, Apoorva Mukhija, Jaspreet Singh, Ashish Chanchlani, and Ranveer Allahbadia—on charges of promoting indecent content, as confirmed by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
The controversy surrounding the ‘India’s Got Latent’ episode has ignited discussions on content regulation, free speech, and legal accountability in India’s growing digital entertainment industry. The participation of Abhinav Chandrachud, a noted advocate and legal scholar, in this high-profile case has further amplified its significance. Chandrachud is known for his extensive academic background, having completed his LLB and BLS degrees from Government Law College, Mumbai, in 2008, where he was awarded the Honourable Justice DP Madon Prize for Constitutional Law. He later pursued an LLM at Harvard Law School as a Dana Scholar in 2009 and went on to earn JSM and JSD degrees from Stanford Law School as a Franklin Family Scholar.
Despite his father’s tenure as the Chief Justice of India, Abhinav Chandrachud never argued a case before the Supreme Court during that period, maintaining professional independence and integrity. He has previously worked as an associate lawyer at the international law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and has authored several legal books, including Supreme Whispers: Conversations with Judges of the Supreme Court of India 1980-1989 and Republic of Rhetoric: Free Speech and the Constitution of India. His writings and legal opinions have been widely published in leading Indian journals and newspapers.
The legal proceedings against Allahbadia and other YouTubers have raised questions about the boundaries of free speech in digital content creation. The outcome of the Supreme Court’s decision on merging multiple complaints against Allahbadia will be closely watched by legal experts, digital creators, and civil rights advocates. For now, the case remains under judicial scrutiny, with the apex court expected to hear the matter in the coming days.
