Supreme Court Sets Aside HC's Condition That YouTuber Must Shut Down YouTube Channel For Bail
The Supreme Court on Friday (September 27) set aside the condition imposed by the Madras High Court that YouTuber Felix Jerald should shut down his YouTube channel “RedPix 24x7” for getting bail in the criminal case over alleged scandalous remarks in the interview of 'Savukku' Shankar uploaded on the channel.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra observed that such a bail condition was extraneous to the issue and was unnecessary. The bench confirmed its September 6 order which stayed the High Court's condition.
During the hearing on September 6, when the interim relief was granted, the Court had questioned the petitioner for allowing the publication of scandalous remarks against the judiciary and women police officers.
"You are making scurrilous allegations against the judiciary and all women IPS officers...why do you host such interviews," CJI Chandrachud asked.
On September 6, Senior Advocate Gopal Shankaranarayanan, for the petitioner, agreed that the petitioner should not have hosted the interview. However, he submitted that the direction to close the YouTube channel was harsh. He highlighted that the petitioner's channel has been in operation since 2004 and has over 2 million subscribers. He referred to the Supreme Court's order in the Mohammed Zubair case, which refused to impose a bail condition that the petitioner should not tweet.
Jerald is facing cases registered under Sections 294 (b) and 506 (1) of the IPC read with Section 4 of the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Harassment of Women Act. along with Savukku Shankar.
Case : Felix Jerald v. State | SLP(Crl) No. 11762/2024