Today, On 23rd August, The Supreme Court told the Tamil Nadu government in response to the repeated detention of YouTuber Savukku Shankar. Shankar recently detained under the Tamil Nadu Goondas Act on charges of ganja possession, just days after the Madras High Court quashed a previous detention order against him issued on May 12.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday criticized the Tamil Nadu government for repeatedly detaining YouTuber Savukku Shankar under the Tamil Nadu Prevention of Dangerous Activities of Bootleggers, Drug Offenders, Goondas, Immoral Traffic Offenders, Forest Offenders, Sand Offenders, Slum-Grabbers, and Video Pirates Act of 1982, commonly known as the TN Goondas Act.
The Tamil Nadu government is facing a legal challenge from YouTuber Savukku Shankar‘s mother, A. Kamala, who has contested an August 12 detention order issued against him under the Goondas Act.
The Supreme Court remarked to the Tamil Nadu government, n response to the repeated detention of YouTuber Savukku Shankar.
“You are after this man,”
A three-judge Bench of the Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud, responded swiftly by issuing a notice to the State after hearing arguments from advocate Balaji Srinivasan, along with advocates K. Gowtham Kumar and Harsha Tripathi, representing Kamala.
They argued that the detention order,
“The detention order was Completely absurd, non-reasoned, and blatantly illegal.”
Advocate Srinivasan highlighted that this was the second detention order issued against Shankar within a short span, just three days after the Madras High Court had quashed the first one.
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The Supreme Court also considering Shankar’s appeal against the registration of 16 FIRs across Tamil Nadu. The second detention order has labelled Shankar as a “drug offender.”
The petition further contended,
“The State is fearful that the detenu (Shankar) may be released soon, and is therefore trying to keep him incarcerated by hook or by crook… He is currently detained in Madurai without any access to his lawyers… He is an investigative journalist who fearlessly exposes the illegal and corrupt activities of the ruling party in the State government.”
The Supreme Court scheduled the case for hearing on August 27.