‘How many will be jailed before polls?’ Apex court in YouTuber case
text_fields
New Delhi: Restoring the bail granted to a YouTuber from Tamil Nadu, the Supreme Court said that everyone who makes allegations on social media cannot be jailed.
A Duraimurugan Sattai allegedly made derogatory remarks against Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, according to NDTV.
The bench comprising Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan made it clear that no evidence was found to prove that A Duraimurugan Sattai had misused the liberty granted to him.
Justice Oka Senior asked Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, who represented the State: "If before elections, we start putting behind bars everyone who makes allegations on Youtube, imagine how many will be jailed?"
Mukul Rohatgi requested the court to impose a condition on Sattai directing him not to make scandalous remarks while on bail.
The court countered it asking who would determine whether a statement was scandalous or not.
Sattai was challenging the Madras High Court order that had cancelled his bail.
The High Court observed that he had engaged in further offense by derogatory remarks against Tamil Nadu Chief Minister shortly after having given an undertaking before the court and he was granted bail based on it.
Sattai approached the Supreme Court seeking justice which ended up the apex court issuing notice on his plea in July 2022.
Sattai went on bail for more than 2.5 years as the court continued the bail granted to him in August 2021.