The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the interim release of YouTuber Savukku Shankar, who had been in preventive detention for over two months, reported Bar and Bench.
The Chennai Police had detained Shankar under the Goondas Act on May 12, reported The Hindu. A division bench of the High Court had on May 24 delivered a split verdict on a petition by Shankar’s mother, A Kamala, against the YouTuber’s detention.
Acting Chief Justice R Mahadevan then directed a third judge, Justice G Jayachandran, to hear the case. Justice Jayachandran directed that the case be heard afresh by a bench that deals with habeas corpus petitions.
The case is now pending before another division bench of the High Court.
The YouTuber’s mother approached the Supreme Court after the division bench declined to immediately hear the case.
Kamala’s plea had contended that Shankar had exposed various scams involving politicians and bureaucrats, and questioned the failures of the state government, reported The News Minute. She also alleged that Shankar’s detention shows the “vengeance unleashed by the police with malicious intentions”.
A bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Ahsanuddin Amanullah asked why Shankar was detained.
“You tell me, you have mentioned only two cases,” the bench said. “Some reporter who has filed a case against him is not even in that state [Tamil Nadu] but in Delhi…How can he [Shankar] be put in detention? Is he a threat to the national security of this country?”
Senior Advocate Siddharth Luthra, representing the Tamil Nadu government, said that Shankar was a “unique specimen” who had defamed the judiciary and made comments against the judges, reported Bar and Bench.
The top court remarked that the Madras High Court appeared to have taken the matter of his liberty casually.
“Somebody’s liberty is at stake,” the Supreme Court said. “He is in preventive detention for over two months.”
The top court ordered that Shankar be released as an interim measure while the High Court hears the petition challenging his preventive detention.
Shankar is a former employee of Tamil Nadu’s Department of Vigilance and Anti-corruption. The Tamil Nadu Police have booked him in seven cases, reported The News Minute. Four of the cases are based on statements he made in an interview, and one of the first information reports is based on a six-year-old complaint by a journalist, the website reported.
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