On Friday 11th November 2022, the Supreme Court suspended YouTuber Savukku Shankar’s six-month prison sentence imposed by the Madras High Court for contempt of court. Shankar has been told not to make any videos about the proceedings before the Supreme Court or the High Court till the next hearing date by a bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and JK Maheshwari. For his comments on the judiciary on his YouTube channel, Shankar was found guilty of criminal contempt on September 15 by the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court and was awarded a 6-month jail term.
A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and JK Maheshwari issued the order suspending the sentence, and also issued notice to the High Court.
On July 22, Shankar said that “the entire judiciary” is “riddled with corruption” on the Redpix YouTube channel. Following that, Justices GR Swaminathan and P Pugalendhi filed suo moto contempt charges against him. On August 4, the High Court sent Shankar a second notice asking for an explanation as to why contempt charges should not be brought against him. Later, Shankar informed the Madurai bench that he “stood by” the statements he had made on the widespread corruption in the legal system. Following this, Savukku Shankar was convicted by the High Court on September 15 and awarded the jail term, after which he was lodged in Madurai jail.
Supreme Court suspends the sentence imposed by the Madras High Court for contempt of court on #SavukkuShankar
— Bar & Bench (@barandbench) November 11, 2022
Court says Shankar must not make any videos or comments on the present proceedings or proceedings before the High Court.
On October 11, Shankar submitted a special leave petition with the Supreme Court challenging the High Court’s ruling. Now, on Friday, November 11, the Supreme Court suspended the jail sentence of the YouTuber. It is notable that Savakku Shankar was suspended from the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption in Tamil Nadu about 13 years ago
The video uploaded on the Redpix YouTube channel is not the only case of contempt Savukku Shankar is facing. In July this year, Savukku Shankar courted controversy after he alleged that Tamil activist Maridhas was granted bail after meeting Justice GR Swaminathan at a temple in Madurai.
“Certain Community people spit and spread Corona. This is Corona Jihad”. This is freedom of speech and expression according to GR Swaminathan and he quashed the case against Maridass,” he tweeted on July 20.
“Certain Community people spit and spread Corona. This is Corona Jihad”. This is freedom of speech and expression according to GR Swaminathan and he quashed the case against Maridass pic.twitter.com/cPXEouFWMu
— Savukku Shankar (@Veera284) July 20, 2022
Following his contentious remark, the Madras High Court initiated contempt proceedings against Savukku Shankar. Justice GR Swaminathan said, “…Thiru Shankar is suggesting that the outcome of the Maridhas case was influenced by the person I am alleged to have met.”
“This is clearly scandalizing the judiciary. Prima facie, Thiru Shankar had committed criminal contempt,” he emphasized. However, on July 22, Shankar again tried to cast aspersions on the integrity of the judiciary. In a video uploaded on the channel ‘Red Pix 24X7′, the Youtuber claimed that the entire judiciary was ‘plagued by corruption.’ Shankar did not provide any evidence to corroborate the claims.
Savukku Shankar is a habitual offender
It must be mentioned that the Tamil Youtuber had several run-ins with the Judiciary. In 2014, Justice Cyril Thamarai Selvam of Madras High Court ordered Savukku Shankar to block his website for defaming police officials and judges. The Youtuber then proceeded to run several sites in the name of Justice CT Selvam, including his current website. This made the Court come to the conclusion that Shankar is a habitual offender.
