NEW DELHI: In a turn of events, Supreme Court judge Justice M M Sundaresh on Wednesday recused himself from hearing the case against YouTuber “Savukku” Shankar alias A Shankar, who is detained under the Goondas Act.
The two-judge bench, led by Justice Sundaresh and Justice Arvind Kumar, was scheduled to hear the appeal by Shankar’s mother A Kamala. With Justice Sundaresh stepping down, the CJI would form a new bench, Shankar’s lawyer Balaji Srinivasan told TNIE.
Kamala filed the habeas corpus petition claiming her son was detained to curtail his freedom of speech as he had played a vital role in exposing government corruption in TN.
The detention violated rights of Shankar according to articles 19(1)(a), 21 and 22 of the Constitution, said Srinivasan. The petition also claimed that two government officials had attempted to influence the HC judges handling the case. Citing the respondents had treated her son unfairly, Kamala approached Supreme Court.