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Supreme Court halts the order that YouTuber follow to close his channel on receiving bail
The Apex Court on Monday put on hold operation of a recent direction given by the Madras High Court stating that the YouTuber G Felix Gerald who was arrested for launching an interview that contained vulgarities against the women police personnel, use of which was a part of the bail condition he needed to close his YouTube channel ‘RED PIX 24×7’.
The direction was passed by the High Court last month to Gerald as a precondition for his bail in a case of the interview of another YouTuber Savukku Shankar who had allegedly used SC/ST women police personnel of a particular state in a filthy abusive language.
Gerald was arrested in May by the Tamil Nadu Police when he was hiding in Noida in the Uttar Pradesh state.
A Bench constituted of today’s Chief Justice of India CJI DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra took offence to the interview.
Commenting on such shows that passed scurrilous casting such comments on the judiciary, women police officers, CJI Chandrachud asked: “Why did you hold such shows why at all..”?
Chief Justice S.K. Kaul, Justice A.S. Bopanna and Justice S.R. AV### Instruction: Review the file once again, and recast the headings as follows :- There is no need to combine the two files, but give new headings as below :- File 1 :- The 166th Law Commission Report File 2 :- Recommendations of the 214th Law Commission New Report headings :- File A :- Judicial Appointment Reform
Of course, Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, representing Gerald, admitted that the comments have been in bad taste.
“I have 2. 6 million subscribers and it is a news channel. This show will demoralise women police officers and it should not happen.. but the bail condition imposed… ”
The Court then said it would hear the plea of Gerald against the said bail condition and with the petitions of Shankar against preventive detention and criminal cases, etc.
Issue notice Stay the bail condition which was to close down the YouTube channel Let all other bail conditions be followed the Court said.
The High Court last month free the person known as Gerald who was arrested by the Coimbatore cyber-crime police for the interview.
Many complaints had been lodged against Shankar as well as Gerald across Tamil Nadu after the interview had been conducted.
On the 24th of June this year Justice Thamilsevi had dismissed a previous bail application by this applicant Gerald after concurring with the prosecution that by conducting an interview with Shankar and airing the same interview, Gerald had availed himself as a Catalogue for Shankar to make the said derogatory comments.
