CHENNAI: A two-judge bench of the Madras High Court on Monday rejected YouTuber Savukku Shankar’s plea to recuse from hearing a petition filed by the state police seeking cancellation of his interim bail in an extortion case.
The division bench comprising Justice P Velmurugan and Justice M Jothiraman rejected allegations of bias raised by the accused. Justice Velmurugan observed courts could not be pressured into stepping aside from hearing cases.
“You cannot blackmail the bench too,” the judge said, adding he had never recused himself in over 20 years of judicial service and would decide the matter strictly in accordance with law.
The bench was hearing a plea filed by the Saidapet police seeking cancellation of the interim bail granted on medical grounds to Shankar by a vacation bench in December 2025. The police contended Shankar had misused the relief granted by the court, stating while he sought bail citing serious health issues, he had undergone only minimal medical treatment after his release.
The state further alleged he had uploaded several long-form videos commenting on the case, interfered with the investigation, threatened witnesses and investigating officers, and violated bail conditions, including failure to disclose his place of residence to the investigating officer.
Shankar’s counsel argued the bail cancellation plea was procedurally flawed as notice had not been served directly and contended that the petition ought to be heard by the same Bench that granted interim bail. The court, however, disagreed, noting that Shankar had availed bail granted on a petition filed by his mother.
The bench directed the state to collect and place before the court all videos uploaded by Shankar after his release. Granting time to file a counter affidavit, the court posted the matter for further hearing on Tuesday afternoon, stating it would proceed to pass orders on merits unless administrative orders were obtained from the chief justice.