The Supreme Court, on Friday, September 27, set aside the Madras High Court’s bail condition pertaining to journalist Felix Gerald's YouTube channel Red Pix. A bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud and justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra observed that the HC’s bail condition that Felix must close his channel down is irrelevant to the case and is unnecessary. The court was hearing a plea moved by him, challenging the HC’s conditional bail order in the case related to an interview he conducted with YouTuber ‘Savukku’ Shankar, in which he allegedly made derogatory remarks about women police personnel.
Earlier, on September 6, the top court had stayed the bail condition. However, the CJI had asked Felix, “You are making scurrilous allegations against the judiciary and all women IPS officers...why do you host such interviews?” While his counsel Gopal Shankaranarayanan agreed that Felix should not have conducted the interview, he contended that the condition to close his channel was harsh.
Felix is named as the second accused in at least two cases – registered in Coimbatore and Trichy cyber crime cells– for conducting and streaming Shankar’s interview and was arrested on May 10.
On July 31, Justice TV Thamilselvi of the Madras HC granted him bail on the conditions that he should close down his channel Red Pix; execute a bond for Rs 10,000 with two sureties; and he should not abscond or tamper with the evidence. The court had earlier dismissed his bail application stating that he provided a platform to Shankar for making the defamatory statements.
Shankar was arrested in the same case on May 4 and released on September 25, after the Supreme Court directed his immediate release.
