The Supreme Court, on August 23, adjourned a hearing on YouTuber Savukku Shankar’s petition challenging 16 FIRs filed against him over an online interview. The bench, including Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, granted the State of Tamil Nadu additional time to submit relevant documents before the court.
During the brief session, Justice Pardiwala expressed concern over the repeated detentions of Shankar, remarking, “This is the same matter where you are after this man. He comes out, and you immediately put him behind bars.” His comment highlighted the ongoing legal actions targeting the YouTuber.
Shankar was recently detained again under the preventive detention law, following an earlier release order by the Madras High Court on August 9, which quashed his previous detention. Advocate Balaji Srinivasan, representing Shankar, requested the court to combine this case with an ongoing habeas corpus petition filed by Shankar’s mother. This petition, overseen by a bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and including Justices Pardiwala and Misra, challenges Shankar’s latest detention.
Senior Advocate Siddarth Luthra, representing the State, opposed combining the cases, arguing that Shankar’s recent detention is related to a different offense than the 16 FIRs currently under challenge. Given the time constraints, Justice Pardiwala indicated that the court would consider the request to consolidate the cases during the next hearing.
On August 14, the Supreme Court had issued notice on Shankar’s writ petition, temporarily halting any coercive action related to the 16 FIRs. The court was also informed that on August 12, Shankar was granted bail and scheduled for release at 5 PM, only to be re-arrested at 5:45 PM the same day. The new detention, under the Tamil Nadu Goondas Act, relates to an NDPS case for which Shankar had already received bail four months earlier.
Shankar, an independent journalist and YouTuber, was originally arrested on May 4, 2024, following accusations of defamatory remarks against female police officers during an April 30 interview on the YouTube channel RedPix 24×7. The 16 FIRs, filed across multiple districts in Tamil Nadu, all stem from this single interview.
In July, the Supreme Court had previously ordered Shankar’s interim release from a prior preventive detention, which was subsequently overturned by the Madras High Court on August 9.
