Supreme Court orders immediate release of Savukku Shankar after TN revokes detention order

The Tamil Nadu government on Wednesday informed the Supreme Court that it has revoked the preventive detention order passed against YouTuber Savukku Shankar in relation to a drugs case [A Shankar @ Savukku Shankar v. State of Tamil Nadu and Ors]

A Bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra recorded the submission and ordered that he should be released immediately.

"The Advisory Board has opined that the impugned order of detention be revoked. Acting on the opinion of the Advisory Board, the State has revoked the order of detention today, i.e., 25th September, 2024 ... In view of the aforesaid, the detenue Shankar @ Savukku Shankar shall be released forthwith, if not required in any other case," it observed.

It then proceeded to dispose of the Habeas Corpus petition filed by Shankar's mother.

The Supreme Court was seized of petitions challenging FIRs against Shankar and also assailing his preventive detention by the Tamil Nadu Police under the Goondas Act.

It had on August 30 asked the State of Tamil Nadu whether the First Information Reports (FIRs) pending against the YouTuber can be clubbed.

As per reports, the latest detention order was passed on allegations that drugs were found in Shankar's possession.

The earlier preventive detention order (passed in May) had cited, among other grounds, defamatory comments that were allegedly made by Shankar against women in an interview given to another YouTuber Felix Jerald.

The High Court had eventually ordered his release in that case but he was then detained again in the drugs/ ganja matter.

Meanwhile, FIRs were registered against him and he approached the Supreme Court to quash the same.

His mother separately filed a Habeas Corpus petition challenging his detention.

The top court on August 14 had granted the YouTuber interim relief in the matter by staying any further coercive action in the FIRs and slammed the Tamil Nadu government for repeatedly detaining him.

It ordered his release today after the State told the Court that preventive detention has been revoked.

The Tamil Nadu government was represented by Senior Advocates Mukul Rohatgi and Sidharth Luthra with advocates D Kumanan, Deepa S, Sheikh F Kalia, Veshal Tyagi and Chinmay Anand Panigrahi.

Shankar was represented by advocates Balaji Srinivasan, K Gowtham Kumar, Harsha Tripathi, Balamurugan, Ayyaparaj and S Gopalakrishnan.

[Read order]