'Shall Be Released Forthwith': SC Orders Release Of YouTuber Savukku Shankar Detained By TN Government

The Supreme Court directed the Tamil Nadu government to forthwith release Savukku Shankar, who is a vocal critic of the ruling DMK and a YouTuber.

New Delhi:The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Tamil Nadu government to forthwith release Savukku Shankar, who is a vocal critic of the ruling DMK and a YouTuber. Shankar was detained under the Goondas Act within days of quashing his previous detention.

A. Kamala, mother of Shankar represented by advocates Balaji Srinivasan, K Gowtham Kumar, and Harsha Tripathi, had challenged the validity of a fresh order of detention passed on August 13 against him, within days of quashing of previous similar order of detention by the Madras High Court.

Senior advocates Mukul Rohatgi and Siddharth Luthra, representing the Tamil Nadu government, informed a bench comprising Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra that the advisory board has opined that the impugned order of detention be revoked.

"Mukul Rohatgi and Siddharth Luthra, the senior counsel appearing for the State of Tamil Nadu, upon instructions, made a statement that the Advisory Board has opined that the impugned order of detention be revoked," the bench noted in its order.

Disposing of the writ petition filed by Shankar’s mother, the bench said, "Acting on the opinion of the Advisory Board, the State has revoked the order of detention today, September 25, 2024. In view of the aforesaid, the detenue Shankar @ Savukku Shankar shall be released forthwith, if not required in any other case".

The petitioner claimed her son is a victim of a witch-hunt by the state government which is motivated by its own vendetta to harass him and keep him incarcerated, and he is a strong voice of dissent in the state while exposing all the illegal acts of the government. The plea contended that the first detention order passed against him under the Goondas Act has been quashed.

The apex court on August 14 had granted protection to Shankar from any coercive actions in 16 FIRs lodged against him by the Tamil Nadu Police.

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