CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has upheld the one-month imprisonment sentence imposed on actor and politician SVe Shekher in connection with a case involving a derogatory social media post against women journalists.
Justice P Velmurugan, while confirming the trial court's verdict, dismissed the revision petition filed by Shekher challenging his conviction and the sentence of one-month imprisonment along with a fine of Rs15,000.
“The revision petition is dismissed. The conviction and sentence imposed by the trial court is confirmed,” the judge stated in the order.
However, the judge granted Shekher ninety days to approach the Supreme Court with a special leave petition against the High Court order, as requested by his counsel. Justice Velmurugan made it clear that no extension of time would be granted after the expiry of the ninety days and stated that the trial court's judgment on the sentence would be executed.
The case originated in 2018 when the Cyber Crime Wing of the Greater Chennai Police booked Shekher following his offensive social media post against women journalists. The special court for MP/MLA cases later took cognisance of the matter.
Shekher had earlier moved the High Court seeking to quash the case, but the court refused and directed the trial court to expedite the trial. The trial court eventually imposed the punishment.
Challenging the trial court’s judgment, Shekher approached the High Court with a revision petition.
During the hearing, Shekher’s counsel argued that the trial court judge had not properly appreciated the facts of the case and questioned the findings and reasoning behind the judgment.
The counsel contended that Shekher had merely forwarded a message he received on his mobile phone without reading its contents. He added that Shekher deleted the post and issued an apology on the same day after being alerted about the objectionable content.
Alleging discrepancies in the trial court’s judgment, the counsel further argued that the judge proceeded based on discussions in the High Court during the quash petition hearing without independent consideration of facts.
He also pointed out that the trial court had relied on electronic evidence without the required certification under Section 65B of the Indian Evidence Act.
Despite these submissions, the High Court upheld the trial court’s verdict while granting Shekher time to file an appeal in the Supreme Court.