4 months ago
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The Madras High Court connected Friday (January 23, 2026) issued a gag bid against YouTuber ‘Savukku’ Shankar alias A. Shankar and directed him not marque immoderate connection oregon comment, directly/indirectly, oregon successful immoderate mode whatsoever, regarding the transgression cases pending against him successful immoderate forum including the print, physics and societal media.
A Division Bench of Justices P. Velmurugan and M. Jothiraman passed the orders portion imposing further conditions connected him for continuing to bask the interim bail that had been granted to him connected December 26, 2025 by a Christmas abrogation Bench of Justices S.M. Subramaniam and P. Dhanabal successful 17 transgression cases.
Though the Greater Chennai City constabulary had filed an exertion to cancel the interim bail granted to the YouTuber for a play of 12 weeks, the Bench refrained from cancelling the bail since it was reported that helium had taken attraction successful a backstage infirmary for his ailments connected January 16 and had been advised furniture remainder for 15 days.
However, since the constabulary claimed that helium was making misleading claims regarding his health, the judges directed the YouTuber to look earlier a aesculapian committee to beryllium constituted by the Dean of Government Rajiv Gandhi General Hospital connected February 2, 2026 for a thorough aesculapian examination.
The Dean was directed to taxable the aesculapian report, successful a sealed cover, earlier the tribunal connected February 3, 2026. In the meantime, the judges ordered that the YouTuber should not marque statements concerning the complainants against him, the investigating officers oregon the behaviour of probe successful immoderate nationalist forum.
The Division Bench besides ordered that helium should not “contact, interact, oregon pass with the co-accused oregon immoderate of the witnesses successful the case, either personally, telephonically, electronically, oregon done immoderate 3rd party, and shall not effort to influence, intimidate, oregon interfere with them successful immoderate manner.”
The Bench besides wrote that helium should “confine his movements strictly to the intent of aesculapian attraction and ineligible consultation and shall not prosecute successful immoderate enactment that whitethorn impede oregon prejudice the investigation. Any usurpation of the supra conditions shall beryllium viewed earnestly and whitethorn effect successful cancellation of interim bail without further notation to this court.”
The judges were convinced the submissions of Additional Public Prosecutor R. Muniyapparaj that the YouTuber had so violated immoderate of the conditions imposed by the Christmas abrogation Bench by not cooperating with the probe and intimidating the witnesses done the videos that helium posted connected his YouTube transmission aft obtaining interim bail.
“The close (to state of code and expression) guaranteed nether Article 19(1)(a) is taxable to tenable restrictions. When a transgression probe is pending and the idiosyncratic making specified statements is himself an accused, nationalist commentary connected the complaint, the complainant, the investigating agency, oregon the grounds cannot beryllium claimed arsenic a protected right,” Justice Velmurugan wrote.
He went connected to state: “Such behaviour has the imaginable to prejudice the investigation, power witnesses, and obstruct the medication of justice, and truthful falls extracurricular the protective ambit of Article 19(1)(a).... Before parting with this case, this tribunal wishes to observe that video journalists indispensable adhere to precocious ethical standards to support nationalist spot and credibility. In the integer age, they are connected the beforehand lines successful combating misinformation and disinformation.”
