YouTuber ‘Savukku’ Shankar walks out of Madurai prison after Supreme Court orders his release

Tamil Nadu government informs Supreme Court that it has revoked Mr. Shankar’s detention under the Goondas Act

The Supreme Court on Wednesday (September 25, 2024) ordered the release of YouTuber ‘Savukku’ Shankar after being informed by the Tamil Nadu government that the State’s Advisory Board had revoked his detention under the Goondas Act.

“Acting on the opinion of the Advisory Board, the State has revoked the order of detention today, i.e., September 25, 2024. In view of the aforesaid, the detenue Shankar @ Savukku Shankar shall be released forthwith, if not required in any other case. The writ petition is accordingly disposed of,” a Bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra said.

The order came on petitions filed by Mr. Shankar’s mother, A. Kamala, represented by advocate Balaji Srinivasan.

Mr. Shankar was released from the Madurai Central Prison in the evening after the Supreme Court order.

A YouTuber had separately challenged 15 FIRs registered against him by the State Police for his remarks during an online interview perceived to be derogatory to women police personnel.

Recently, the apex court had questioned the State government’s move to issue one preventive detention order under the Tamil Nadu Goondas Act as soon as Mr. Shankar was out from an earlier detention order.

Mr. Srinivasan had submitted that 51% of the preventive detention orders in India come from Tamil Nadu every year.

“There is rampant misuse of the Goondas Act,” he had said.

Senior advocates Mukul Rohatgi and Siddharth Luthra appeared for the State.

Mr. Shankar’s counsel had submitted that his client was harassed by the State through a string of detention orders for exercising his right to free speech. The State was “not prosecuting, but persecuting him”, Mr. Srinivasan said.

The FIRs were used to “parade” the YouTuber from one district to another throughout the State, he submitted.

On August 23, Justice Pardiwala asked whether the State was targetting the YouTuber.

“Why are you doing all this? You put the man behind bars the moment he comes out,” Justice Pardiwala had orally asked the State.

On August 14, the apex court had stayed the Tamil Nadu Police from taking any coercive measures against Mr. Shankar on the basis of these FIRs. Mr. Srinivasan has urged the court to quash them.

On July 18, the apex court had ordered the interim release of Mr. Shankar, who was at the time in preventive detention under the Goondas Act since May. The Madras High Court had quashed the State’s order of detention against Mr. Shankar in a detailed judgment on August 9.

Three days later, on August 12, the State had issued a second detention order under the Goondas Act. It was this detention order the State revoked on Wednesday.

Mr. Srinivasan had submitted that his client was even lodged in solitary confinement. “They should have given him books to read,” he had submitted.

Published - September 25, 2024 07:22 pm IST