Fake videos on labourers: SC rejects plea of jailed Bihar YouTuber against invoking NSA

A plea of jailed Bihar YouTuber Manish Kashyap against invoking the stringent National Security Act (NSA) against him, was not entertained by the Supreme Court on Monday (May 8).

The YouTuber was arrested for allegedly circulating fake videos of migrant labourers being attacked in Tamil Nadu (TN).

A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala, however, granted Kashyap the liberty to challenge the NSA invocation at an appropriate judicial forum.

Also read: FIRs against YouTuber Manish Kashyap not politically motivated: TN tells SC

It also rejected the plea for clubbing all 19 FIRs against him and their transfer to Bihar.
“We are not inclined to entertain the plea,” the bench said while rejecting the vehement submissions of senior advocate Maninder Singh, appearing for Kashyap who is presently lodged in Madurai jail of TN.

Earlier, the top court had granted time to the TN government, represented by lawyer Amit Anand Tiwari, to respond to the amended plea of Kashyap, against whom the stringent NSA was invoked for allegedly circulating the videos.

The arrested YouTuber faces several FIRs and out of them, three have been lodged in Bihar.
The top court had on April 11 issued notice to the Centre, TN and Bihar governments on Kashyap’s plea, seeking clubbing of the FIRs lodged against him and their transfer to his native state.

In March this year, Kashyap was arrested for “indulging in spreading fake videos of migrants being killed and beaten up in Tamil Nadu on social media”.