Supreme Court Restores YouTuber Sattai Duraimurugan's Bail Over Remarks Against MK Stalin (image-X/Saattaidurai)
A division bench of the Supreme Court has restored the bail granted to YouTuber Sattai Duraimurugan. He was arrested on allegations of making derogatory statements against Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin.
The bench, comprising Justices Abhay S. Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan, delivered this ruling while hearing a Special Leave Petition (SLP) filed by Sattai challenging the Madras High Court”s decision to cancel his bail. The High Court had cancelled his bail based on a plea by the State Government, which argued that Sattai continued to make derogatory remarks despite an undertaking not to do so.
During the hearing, Justice Oka remarked, “If before elections we start putting everyone behind bars who makes allegations on YouTube, imagine how many will be jailed?” as quoted by a Live Law report.
Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing the state, requested the court impose a condition on Sattai, prohibiting him from making scandalous remarks while on bail. However, the bench was not convinced, questioning who would decide what constitutes a scandalous statement.
Sattai”s case gained attention when the Madras High Court initially granted him bail with the condition of refraining from making derogatory remarks. Subsequently, the state government moved the High Court to seek cancellation of bail, citing continued derogatory remarks against the Chief Minister.
The Supreme Court, in its ruling, set aside the High Court”s order cancelling Sattai”s bail. The bench opined that Sattai did not misuse the liberty granted to him and that the allegations mentioned in the FIRs were not grounds for bail cancellation.
Senior Advocate Rohatgi highlighted two FIRs registered against Sattai, one in December 2022 and another in March 2023. The Court observed that the allegations in these FIRs to participating in a protest condemning the Babri Masjid demolition and the YouTuber and others demanding the release of specific individuals under custody. The court came to the conclusion that both the allegations did not constitute misuse of liberty granted to Sattai and refused to cancel the bail.
The Supreme Court clarified that the state could seek bail cancellation if Sattai misuses the liberty granted in the future.
