On Wednesday, March 26, the Delhi High Court dismissed a petition that wanted singer and rapper Yo Yo Honey Singh to change the lyrics of his latest song “Maniac.” The petition claimed that the song used Bhojpuri lyrics that disrespected women, but the court rejected this request. The judges said, “Vulgarity doesn’t have any religion,” meaning that vulgarity is not specific to any language or culture.
The petition was filed by Luv Kush Kumar, who argued that the song promoted inappropriate content by using Bhojpuri words and showed women in a sexualized way. His lawyer said the song had vulgar language and objectified women, encouraging disrespect and sexism.
The Delhi High Court, led by Chief Justice DK Upadhyay and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela, told Kumar’s lawyer that vulgarity is vulgar, no matter the language. They also pointed out that the petition wasn’t something they could deal with since it was a matter between private individuals, not the state. The court said that it could not issue a writ in this case and suggested that Kumar could take other legal actions, like filing a criminal case if necessary.
After the court’s advice, Kumar decided to withdraw his petition. This issue also involved actress Neetu Chandra, who had earlier asked the Patna High Court to make changes to the lyrics of the song and regulate such content. She had asked the court to order the singers of the song, Yo Yo Honey Singh, Leo Grewal, and Ragini Vishwakarma, along with T-Series, Google, and YouTube, to modify the lyrics due to their offensive nature.
