Madras High Court Grants Bail To Youtuber Felix Jerald In Savukku Shankar Case, Asks Him To Close His YouTube Channel

Justice TV Thamilselvi passed the orders on a petition filed by Jerald. Previously, when Jerald had moved a bail petition with respect to the case registered by the Cyber Police, the court had dismissed the petition noting that Jerald had provided a platform to Shankar for making the alleged defamatory statements.

Following the derogatory remarks, cases were 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. The Cyber Police had also registered a case against Jerald for the same offense. It may also be noted that Jerald had approached the court seeking anticipatory bail in May but was rejected, after which Tiruchi Police arrested him.

In the present petition, Senior Advocate John Sathyan, appearing for Jerald submitted that the interview was conducted to expose the shortcomings of the State administration. He further submitted that Jerald had been in custody for more than 80 days and was willing to file an affidavit stating that he would not indulge in such acts in the future.

The state, however, objected to the bail petition and submitted that Jerald was a repeat offender. The state informed the court that in previous cases of similar nature, Jerald had filed affidavits stating that he would not indulge in such acts but had continued to engage in the same offense.

The court, after hearing both sides, decided to grant bail to Jerald. The court also asked Jerald to not give any interviews during his bail period.

Counsel for the Petitioners: Senior Advocate John Sathyan for D Revathi Karthick, Yogaraja Sekar

Counsel for the Respondent: Mr.V.Meganathan Government Advocate

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Mad) 295

Case Title: Felix Jerald v The State

Case No: Crl OP 17704 of 2024