Supreme Court Dismisses Savukku Shankar’s Plea to Unseal Chennai Office, Asks Him to Approach Magistrate
Supreme Court refused to entertain the YouTuber Savukku Shankar’s writ plea and directed him to approach the jurisdictional magistrate under the BNSS
Supreme Court declined to entertain YouTuber Savukku Shankar’s plea challenging the sealing of his Chennai office
The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to entertain a plea filed by YouTuber Savukku Shankar seeking directions to unseal his office in Chennai and for the return of devices seized in connection with allegations of assault and extortion levelled by a film producer.
The Bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma dismissed the petition, observing that the writ jurisdiction cannot be invoked for every grievance, and directed Shankar to pursue his remedies before the jurisdictional judicial magistrate.
“Don’t think the writ court is the panacea for all ills. Dismissed,” the Bench told Senior Advocate Balaji Srinivasan, who appeared on behalf of Shankar.
Shankar had approached the Supreme Court challenging an order of the Madras High Court dated December 30, 2025, by which the High Court declined to stay the sealing of his office premises and directed him to approach the magistrate under Sections 105 to 107 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023.
In his plea before the Supreme Court, Shankar sought a direction to unseal his office located at Adambakkam in Chennai and to restrain the authorities from deploying police personnel at the entrance of the premises. He also sought the return of electronic devices seized during the course of the investigation.
The Madras High Court had earlier, on December 26, 2025, granted interim bail to Shankar on health grounds in as many as 17 criminal cases registered against him. While granting relief, the High Court had observed that the repeated curtailment of his personal liberty by the Tamil Nadu Police could only be construed as an “abuse of process of law.”
Shankar, a video journalist and the CEO of Savukku Media (OPC) Private Limited, has been lodged in Central Prison-II, Puzhal. His mother alleged that he had been continuously targeted by law enforcement agencies due to his investigative journalism and critical commentary on the functioning of the state government through his YouTube channel “Savukku Media”. Court noted that a preventive detention order passed against Shankar under the Goondas Act in May 2024 had earlier been set aside by the high court. It further recorded that a second detention order passed immediately after the first was quashed was later withdrawn by the state before the Supreme Court. The bench remarked that the repeated use of detention laws against the same individual raised serious questions about the misuse of statutory powers.
Case Title: Shankar@ Savukku Shankar v. The Inspector of Police
Bench: Justices Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma
Hearing Date: January 20, 2026