Comedian Pranit More Moves Supreme Court For Relief In FIRs Over 'Rs.370 Biryani' Controversy
After facing severe backlash over the 'Rs.370 biryani' controversy, comedian Pranit More has approached the Supreme Court for clubbing of FIRs lodged against him in Maharashtra and Haryana.
The petition filed by More impleads the Union of India and the States of Maharashtra and Haryana. The case is likely to be listed on September 21.
To recap, More came under severe public scrutiny after an audience member in his show, namely Himanshu Jangra, made a misogynistic remark suggesting that he expected sexual intimacy in return for having spent Rs. 370 over chicken at a date.
After the comedian laughed alongwith the crowd, and responded to the remark by saying "peak Gurugram content", he faced online backlash over trivialization of consent for sexual intimacy.
While Jangra lost his job over the remark, the Maharashtra Cyber Police lodged an FIR against More, Jangra and 1 other. Reportedly, this FIR was registered under Sections 75 (sexual harassment), 294 (sale/distribution of obscene content), 353 (public mischief), 354 (coercing someone to do or omit to do something by inducing fear of divine displeasure) of BNS and Section 67 of the IT Act.
More was also sent summons by the National Commission for Women. In the aftermath, he posted apology videos on his social media handles and said that he "deserved the hate". Recently, he announced his come-back to stand-up comedy with a tour called 'Ghayal'.
Earlier, comedian Samay Raina also faced severe backlash over certain objectionable remarks made by YouTuber Ranveer Allahabadia aka 'BeerBiceps' on his show "India's Got Latent" (Season 1). About 5 comedians were roped in the controversy, which led to registration of FIRs across the country. The matter ultimately reached the Supreme Court, which berated Allahabadia, and later Raina, over their remarks/conduct.
The scope of the proceedings extended over to jokes on persons with disabilities. Ultimately the FIRs were quashed by the Court, but not before the comedians apologized on social media and took remedial steps to amend for their jokes on persons with disabilities.
A PIL has also been filed before the Supreme Court seeking a comprehensive regulatory framework for stand-up comedy, podcasts, live streaming platforms and other user-generated digital content. This PIL cites the "Rs 370 Biryani" controversy as one of the instances demonstrating the need for constitutional safeguards in the digital age.
Case: Pranit More v. State of Maharashtra and Ors., WP(Crl) No. 367/2026