#BasKarBassi alleged controversy: SC dismisses petition against Anubhav Singh Bassi
On Monday, the Supreme Court dismissed a plea against stand-up comedian and actor Anubhav Singh Bassi over the content of his show Bas Kar Bassi, which debuted on Amazon Prime Video in February 2023. The plea, filed by advocate Farhat Warsi, said that in his show, Bassi had portrayed the lawyer community negatively and demanded action against him. The SC, however, rubbished the request.
Why does this story matter?
Bassi is a BA LLB degree holder from Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University, Lucknow. He graduated in 2015 and has spoken about his law school experiences during several stand-up comedy shows and podcasts. In Bas Kar Bassi, too, he had reportedly spoken about the time he worked as a young lawyer, and his usual brand of jokes didn't sit right with Warsi.
The apex court found 'no merit in the petition'
A Supreme Court bench, led by Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Sudhanshu Dhulia, said, "What's this? Why should we entertain this against some stand-up comedy show? Come with something better." "Let other lawyers take care of themselves. You don't have to defend the community. You take care of yourself," said the bench, further adding that they didn't find any "merit in this writ petition."
SC judges also chided the petitioner
Not only did the justices dismiss the writ that alleged the "defamation of judiciary, legal profession, and lawyers," but they also went on to reprimand Warsi for raising the matter. Bar & Bench quoted the Apex Court, "Do you not have something better to do; and you are practicing (law) for 20 years you say? Dismissed. Not a matter for Article 32."
Legal jargon: What exactly is Article 32?
Per JLRJS, "Article 32 gives citizens the authority to seek the Supreme Court, which guarantees essential rights to nationals of a country. The Indian citizen may put in a complaint with the Supreme Court in an attempt to remedy a violation of [their] fundamental rights." Dr. BR Ambedkar called it "the soul and the heart of the [Indian] Constitution."
Know more about Bassi's career highlights
Bassi shot to the limelight through his successful stand-up comedy career and he has 42.5 lakh subscribers on YouTube currently. On Instagram, he is followed by 2.2M followers and also appeared on Sony TV's The Kapil Sharma Show twice. In March 2023, he made his feature film debut with Luv Ranjan's Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar and played Mickey's (Ranbir Kapoor) best friend.
