Supreme Court suspends sentence imposed on Savukku Shankar by Madras High Court for contempt of court

The Supreme Court of India on Friday suspended the sentence of six-month imprisonment imposed by the Madras High Court on YouTuber Savukku Shankar for contempt of court [Shankar @ Savukku Shankar vs The Judicial Registrar and Ors.].

A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and JK Maheshwari directed Shankar not to make videos on the proceedings before the Supreme Court or the High Court until the next date of hearing.

On September 15, Madras High Court's Madurai bench had convicted Shankar for criminal contempt for his remarks on the judiciary on his YouTube channel.

The High Court had sentenced him to 6 months in prison.

On July 22, Shankar had said on the YouTube channel 'Redpix' that "the entire judiciary" is "riddled with corruption". Following this, suo motu contempt proceedings were initiated against him by Justices GR Swaminathan and P Pugalendhi.

On August 4, the High Court issued a second notice to Shankar asking why contempt proceedings must not be initiated against him. Subsequently, Shankar had told the Madurai bench that he "stood by" his statements made on the rampant corruption in the judiciary.

Shankar had submitted a written reply before the bench claiming that he "deeply loved" his country and wished that the nation's institutions were strengthened.

He said it was for this purpose that he speaks up and writes.

However, the High Court had refused to accept his argument.

It said that while Shankar had said in his defence that his statements had been taken out of context, and he had spoken up, merely out of concern for the judiciary, the same could not be held as a "mitigating circumstance."