Savukku Shankar's Goondas Detention Case| Madras High Court Demands Full Disclosure Of Files

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Today, On 23rd May, The Madras High Court mandated the full disclosure of files related to the detention of journalist Savukku Shankar under the Goondas Act. The court emphasized transparency in the detention process, seeking detailed records and justifications. This move highlights the judiciary’s commitment to safeguarding individual rights against arbitrary state actions.

Chennai: The Madras High Court, in a recent development on Thursday, May 23, 2024, directed the Greater Chennai City Commissioner of Police, Sandeep Rai Rathore, to produce the entire file related to the invocation of the Goondas Act against YouTuber ‘Savukku’ Shankar, also known as A. Shankar, following his arrest on May 4.

The Summer vacation Bench, comprising Justices G.R. Swaminathan and P.B. Balaji, asked the Advocate General, P.S. Raman, to ensure that the file submitted by 2:15 pm on the same day. This will allow the court to peruse the file and be satisfied that, sufficient grounds for the invocation of the preventive detention law.

Notably, the judges have refrained from passing the usual order of directing a notice, returnable in six weeks, in the habeas corpus petitions challenging the invocation of the preventive detention laws. Instead, they have insisted on personally reviewing the entire file in the HCP filed by Shankar’s mother, A. Kamala.

The Commissioner of Police issued the detention order on May 12, following Shankar’s arrest by the Coimbatore police in Theni on charges of making derogatory statements against women police personnel.

According to the affidavit filed by the petitioner’s mother along with the Habeas Corpus Petition (HCP), her son subsequently arrested in multiple other cases registered against him in Chennai and Theni. She alleged that the preventive detention law had been invoked against her son due to malicious intent, as he was a strong critic of the state government and the police.

The petitioner claimed that numerous cases had been fabricated in order to incarcerate her son. She also mentioned a “dubious” road accident that occurred when, being transported from Theni to Coimbatore following his arrest on May 4.

Furthermore, the petitioner stated that the prison authorities brutally assaulted her son, leading to a fracture in his right arm.

Since the petitioner also filed a writ petition seeking a National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) inquiry into the alleged assault, the Division Bench decided to hear that writ petition in the afternoon as well.