NEW DELHI: Supreme Court on Thursday directed the release of YouTuber Savukku Shankar, who was detained under the Goondas Act by the Chennai police in May.
Granting the interim relief to him till Madras high court decides his habeas corpus petition challenging his preventive detention, a bench of Justices Sudhansdhu Dhulia and Ahsanuddin Amanullah also raised questions on action taken by the state police to detain him.
The court asked the high court to grant expeditious hearing considering that it is a preventive detention matter.
Both Shankar’s counsel and the state govt told the court that they would mention the matter before the high court with a joint request to grant hearing on Monday.
The bench was hearing two petitions moved by Shankar’s mother A Kamala related to his detention.
Shankar was first arrested on May 4 in connection with a YouTube interview wherein he had made derogatory remarks against women police personnel in Tamil Nadu. A flurry of similar complaints were received and cases were registered in different districts.
Shankar has been booked for offences under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act as well.
The interim relief granted by Supreme Court on Thursday, therefore, would not mean Shankar would be released from jail, as he needs to obtain bail in all the cases, including the NDPS Act case.
