Madras HC closes plea of 'Savukku Media' employee, asks police to follow due process of law

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has disposed off a petition filed by an employee of Savukku Media seeking to restrain the Chennai police from interfering in its functioning. The court has reserved its order.

A vacation bench of Justice K Kumaresh Babu heard the petition moved by T Vignesh, an employee of Savukku Media, seeking direction to prevent the police from interfering with the media house's functioning.

The police submitted that it has not issued any order to prevent Savukku Media from functioning and that the case has been registered only against the CEO of the media house, 'Savukku' Shankar. It was also submitted that the petitioner had filled the petition without any valid identity card connecting him to Savukku Media.

However, the counsel for the petitioner submitted that police personnel are entering into the office premises and troubling employees.

After the submission, the judge wondered how the police could enter into private office premises without a search warrant. Further, the judge observed that without any due process of law, the police cannot enter into the premises.

The judge also said that final orders would be pronounced later, while closing the petition.

Coimbatore Cybercrime Police had registered a case against Tamil YouTuber, whistleblower and political commentator ‘Savukku’ Shankar for allegedly making defamatory remarks against women police officials. He was arrested from Theni on May 4. Incidentally, when Shankar was being taken to Coimbatore from Theni, the vehicle in which he and other policemen were travelling had met with an accident at Dharapuram. He sustained minor injuries.

Shankar, a former employee of the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption, is presently detained in the Coimbatore central prison.

Meanwhile, Shankar’s lawyer G Gopalakrishnan alleged that his client was assaulted in the prison causing a fracture in his right hand.

Gopalakrishnan alleged that Shankar’s life was in danger inside the prison as policemen were acting out of vendetta and were causing him mental agony. The lawyer has filed a petition claiming that Shankar’s life is in danger in the prison.

More cases filed

On May 6, Salem cyber crime police registered another case against Shankar based on a complaint by a women sub-inspector demanding action against him for posting a video in which he spoke in an obscene manner about Tamil Nadu women police.

The cyber crime wing of CCB Chennai too registered a case against Shankar on May 8 based on a complaint lodged by journalist Sandhya Ravishankar in 2018.

In a post on X, she said Shankar had made derogatory comments against her in a blog post.

The head of the Tamilar Munnetra Padai Veeralakshmi too lodged a complaint against Shankar and Felix Gerald of Red Pix for making derogatory comments about women cops based on which both men have been booked.

Shankar was booked on May 4 under sections of 294(b) (obscene acts and songs), 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) and 353 (Assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) of IPC r/w section 4 of Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Harassment of Woman Act and section 67 of Information Technology Act of 2000, Coimbatore city police said in their ‘X’ handle.

In 2022, Shankar was in jail for over two months after being sentenced to six months jail for contempt of court following his statement accusing the “entire higher judiciary” of corruption.

With online desk inputs