The Madras High Court has initiated suo-motu proceeding against political commentator ‘Savukku’ Sankar for his tweet disparaging Justice G.R. Swaminathan.
Shankar, who runs a blog named ‘Savukku’ also features in several Tamil YouTube channels identifying himself as a ‘senior journalist’. He is known for his abusive behaviour on social media targetting politicians, journalists, judiciary and government officials.
The self-styled ‘senior journalist and whistleblower’, had commented on Justice G.R. Swaminathan and his judgements in a number of interviews including in his own YouTube channel.
In a tweet posted on 18 July 2022, Shankar implied in his tweet that Justice GR Swaminathan had ‘met someone,’ at the Azhagar temple in Madurai in connection with the case against prominent DMK-critic Tamil YouTuber Maridhas.
Justice G.R. Swaminathan had quashed the FIRs filed against Maridhas by the DMK government for a tweet that came in the light of the late Chief of Defence Staff Bipin Rawat. He noted in his judgement that YouTubers also have the same rights accorded to journalists and also have the freedom of speech and expression.
அய்யா எதுவா இருந்தாலும் என் கிட்டயே கேக்கலாம். கோர்ட்டில் பேச வேண்டாம்.
மாரிதாஸ் வழக்கு விசாரிக்கும்போது, ஒரு நாள் காலை 6 மணிக்கு அழகர் கோவிலில் யாரை சந்தித்தீர்கள் ? @LiveLawIndia pic.twitter.com/KA6nAWDFnl
— Savukku Shankar (@Veera284) July 18, 2022
In his order to initiate contempt proceeding against Shankar, Justice G.R. Swaminathan said that Shankar’s recent tweets has ‘crossed the Lakshman Rekha’.
“He asks me, ‘Who I met at 06.00 am at Azhagar Koil when I was hearing the case pertaining to Thiru Maridhas?’ By this innuendo, Thiru Shankar is suggesting that the outcome of the Maridhas case was influenced by the person I am alleged to have met. This is clearly scandalising the judiciary. Prima facie, Thiru Shankar had committed criminal contempt (sic),” Justice Swaminathan wrote in the order.
“A person who is getting paid by the State without doing any work has the audacity to mock at a Judge who feels he must justify every paise that he gets from the exchequer. The State government is obliged to make a statement regarding the status of the disciplinary action initiated against Thiru Savukku Shankar (sic),” Justice Swaminathan noted in his order about Shankar who is a suspended Tamil Nadu government employee and has been getting subsistence allowance.
Justice Swaminathan noted that he was initially of the opinion that Shankar was entitled to comment on his judgements but the recent tweet had questioned his integrity which amounts to contempt of court.
“Imputing partiality, bias or improper motives to a judge is scandalisation of the court and would be criminal contempt. Since I am prima facie satisfied that Thiru Savukku Shankar had exceeded his limits, I direct the Registry of the Madurai Bench to register a suo motu case of contempt against Thiru Savukku Shankar,” the court ordered.
Though his original handle has been blocked by Twitter based on a legal demand, he continues to tweet under a different handle.
About Shankar resurfacing on social media through an alternative account, Justice Swaminathan said “In mythology, whenever the head of an asura is slayed, another one will pop up. Savukku Shankar appears to have taken inspiration from such mythological characters.”.
The judge also passed observations on other cases being registered against Shankar including that of sexual harassment. He also asked social media intermediaries like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube to file an affidavit setting out the details of complaints received by them against Shankar and the action taken by them.
‘Savukku’ Shankar has been accused of harassment, stalking and defamation by a woman journalist in named Sandhya Ravishankar.
The self-styled ‘whistle-blower’ is a serial abuser and has spewed venom against individuals on different occassions. He had once called for a genocide against Tamil Brahmin community. He had called Hon’ble President of India Ram Nath Kovind, a ‘slave dog’. He has made several unwarrant and crass comments on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He had called Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman as ‘Oorgai Maami’, a casteist and a sexist reference to her Brahmin and woman identity. Zoho’s CEO Sridhar Vembu was also targeted by Savukku Shankar and was subjected to consistent harassment through casteist remarks. In 2014, his website ‘Savukku Online’ was banned by the High Court for publishing defamatory articles against Sun News newsreader and lawyer Mahalakshmi.
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