‘How many will be jailed before polls?’: SC asks TN govt, restores YouTuber Sattai's bail

The Supreme Court on Monday (April 8) reinstated the bail granted to YouTuber A Sattai Duraimurugan in a case over his alleged derogatory remarks against Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin.

Duraimurugan had challenged the Madras High Court order that had cancelled his bail. He has continued to remain on bail for more than 2.5 years.

The Supreme Court Bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan set aside the order of the Madras High Court.

“If before elections, we start putting behind bars everyone who makes allegations on YouTube, imagine how many will be jailed?” the apex court said.

“We don’t think that by protesting and by expressing his views, it can be said that the appellant has misused the liberty granted to him (by this Court). Even otherwise we are of the view that the grounds mentioned in the impugned order cannot constitute grounds for cancellation of bail”, the Bench observed.

Representing the state of Tamil Nadu, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi requested the top court to impose a condition that the YouTuber does not make any “scandalous” remarks while on bail.

Responding to this, the court said, “This court will decide what is scandalous and what is not.”

In 2021, Tamil Nadu Police arrested Duraimurugan after he criticised Stalin and others in his YouTube videos. The Madras High Court had granted him bail in August 2021 on condition that he won’t make any derogatory comments or commit any other offence when out on bail. However, Duraimurugan again made some remarks and the high court cancelled his bail in June 2022.