Senthil Balaji and Savukku Shankar  
Tamil Nadu

'Savukku' Shankar fined Rs 1 lakh for posts on Senthil Balaji despite HC injunction

In August 2022, the Madras HC passed an interim injunction against YouTuber 'Savukku' Shankar, restricting him from publishing and circulating information on social media against Minister Senthil Balaji.

Written by : TNM Staff

Madras High Court judge Justice Kumaresh Babu imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh on YouTuber 'Savukku' Shankar for violating the interim injunction restricting him from publishing and circulating information on social media against Tamil Nadu Minister V Senthil Balaji. The court on Friday, June 16, directed Shankar to exercise caution while tweeting about the recent arrest of Senthil Balaji by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) minister was arrested in the early hours of June 14 in connection with the cash-for-jobs scam in the state-run transport corporation when he was holding the Transport portfolio earlier in the Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) government. 

Shankar has been tweeting updates about Senthil Balaji’s arrest and sharing videos and opinion pieces on the scam. Apart from these updates, he has also alleged that top police officials in Tamil Nadu had been shielding Senthil Balaji. 

On August 23, 2022, the Madras High Court passed an interim injunction against Shankar which restricted him from publishing and circulating information on social media about Senthil Balaji. The Minister had filed a case against the YouTuber alleging that he was involved in a smear campaign against him and claimed that his reputation was being tarnished by the videos and tweets published by Shankar. The case was filed after Shankar had implied in one of this videos that Senthil Balaji had something to do with the death of 45-year-old Bhaskar, who was working as the Junior Assistant in the Tamil Nadu government’s Metropolitan Transport Corporation posted at Saidapet Depot in Chennai when the job racket scam broke out and was a key accused in the case.

Read: Key accused in Tamil Nadu transport job scam dead, no probe for months 

Senthil Balaji’s defence asked for a permanent injunction against Shankar, claimed that the minister's reputation was tarnished by Shankar’s videos and tweets. 

Read: DMK minister Senthil Balaji secures gag order against Savukku Shankar

Also read: Explained: The transport job scam that TN Min Senthil Balaji has been arrested for

Sign up to get Daily Wrap in your inbox

* indicates required