The Madras High Court directed Tamil Nadu police officials to submit by July 29 a list of all pending cases against YouTuber ‘Savukku’ Shankar, while hearing his plea alleging police interference in his media company’s operations.
Chennai: The Madras High Court instructed the Tamil Nadu Home Secretary, the Director General of Police (DGP), and the Greater Chennai Commissioner of Police to provide by July 29 a list of pending criminal cases against YouTuber ‘Savukku’ Shankar, also known as A. Shankar (48), along with the number of cases for which investigations have been completed.
This directive was issued while the court ordered notices to the three officials and instructed them to file their counter-affidavit in response to a writ petition submitted by Mr. Shankar, who alleged police interference in the operations of Savukku Media (One Person Company) Private Limited.
During the hearing, the judge criticized journalists who conduct parallel media trials in criminal cases solely for sensationalism, even going so far as to dictate to police and judges how cases should be managed without waiting for their outcomes.
The judge urged the YouTuber’s attorney to counsel his client, stating that journalists should not abuse their fundamental right to speech and expression under Article 19 of the Constitution by disparaging every institution at the preliminary stages of inquiries or investigations.
The judge remarked,
“We have to take the weapon (of Article 19) for a good cause, not for blackmailing. It is a stark reality that some of the journalists are blackmailing people… You cannot expect police and courts to act as per your dictum… This is not the way… You are misguiding the people by doing all this,”
In his affidavit, Mr. Shankar accused Greater Chennai Commissioner of Police A. Arun of subjecting him and his employees to various unlawful actions since February, allegedly due to his exposure of police misconduct through his YouTube channel.
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He described an incident in February when he traveled to Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, with his crew to cover the Kumbh Mela. There, a team of 20 personnel from the Telangana police intercepted their vehicle, taking them to the Ramayampet police station for questioning.
The entire crew, including the driver and cameraman, was detained for about two hours and was released only after paying Rs.1,000 for not having a Pollution Under Check (PUC) certificate. He claimed this harassment was orchestrated by the Greater Chennai police.
Mr. Shankar stated that he promptly emailed the Home Secretary to complain about the Chennai police tracking his movements and harassing him. He also mentioned that in May, the police seized the motorcycles of his cameraman and visual editor over minor charges.
Consequently, he submitted a second complaint to the Home Secretary on May 23, noting that the Home Secretary chairs the State Police Complaints Authority established under the Tamil Nadu Police (Reforms) Act of 2013, making them the appropriate authority to address issues of police misconduct.
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He also indicated that he filed a similar complaint with the DGP on June 21, seeking directions for the Home Secretary and DGP to act on his complaints and to prevent the Greater Chennai Commissioner of Police from interfering with Savukku Media’s operations.
However, Additional Advocate General J. Ravindran, representing the Home Secretary, argued that the complaints raised by the writ petitioner did not strictly fall under the scope of the 2013 Act. He further stated that he would submit all his arguments in writing through a counter-affidavit within two weeks.