Chennai, 20 May (H.S.):The Madras High Court on Wednesday granted conditional bail to YouTuber-journalist A. Shankar, popularly known as ‘Savukku’ Shankar, in a criminal case involving allegations of defamation, extortion, assault and intimidation linked to controversial remarks he allegedly made about the Tamil feature film Red and Follow.
The relief was granted by Justice R. Sakthivel during proceedings before the vacation bench after the court noted that the police investigation into the case had been completed and the charge sheet had already been filed. Observing that custodial interrogation was no longer necessary, the court allowed Shankar’s bail petition while imposing specific conditions.
As part of the bail conditions, the court directed Shankar to appear daily before the Adambakkam Police Station until further orders.
The case originated from allegations that Shankar had made defamatory statements regarding the production and financing of Red and Follow. According to the prosecution, Shankar publicly claimed that the film had been produced using money allegedly generated through narcotics-related activities linked to Ajay Vandaiyar.
Investigators argued that the statements caused serious damage to the reputation of the complainant, P. Mahesh, who subsequently contacted Shankar seeking clarification regarding the allegations.
According to the prosecution, during that interaction Shankar allegedly demanded ₹10 lakh over the phone. The complaint further stated that Mahesh later met Shankar at his office in July last year carrying ₹1 lakh in cash.
During the meeting, Shankar allegedly snatched the money, physically assaulted Mahesh by kicking him, verbally abused him and threatened him with severe consequences, police alleged.
Following the complaint, the Adambakkam Police registered a case against Shankar under multiple provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, including charges related to criminal intimidation, extortion, assault and other associated offences.
With the High Court granting conditional bail, Shankar has secured temporary relief while criminal proceedings in the case continue before the trial court.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Arun Lakshman
