The Supreme Court on Wednesday told the Tamil Nadu Police not to take coercive action against YouTuber Savukku Shankar in the 16 cases filed against him, Live Law reported.
All the cases pertain to an interview that Shankar gave to a YouTube on April 30, during which he allegedly made defamatory remarks about women police personnel. The YouTuber, however, claimed that the cases were filed to stop him from speaking against corruption by politicians and bureaucrats.
Shankar was first arrested on May 4, and is currently under preventive detention.
A bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud on Wednesday told lawyer Balaji Srinivasan, representing Shankar, to prepare a chart listing all the cases filed against his client, The Hindu reported.
The lawyer told the bench that the YouTuber was placed under preventive detention afresh on Tuesday, even though the Supreme Court was hearing the case.
The Madras High Court on August 9 quashed Shankar’s detention, observing that there was an element of malice in the Tamil Nadu government’s actions against him.
The YouTuber had been detained under the Tamil Nadu Prevention of Dangerous Activities of Bootleggers, Cyber Law Offenders, Drug Offenders, Forest Offenders, Goondas, Immoral Traffic Offenders, Sand Offenders, Sexual Offenders, Slum Grabbers and Video Pirates Act, 1982.
On Wednesday, Shankar’s lawyer told the Supreme Court that merely three days after the High Court order, his client was detained again – this time on allegations of possessing ganja, which is an offence under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act.
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