Supreme Court Stays Madras HC's Directive on YouTuber Channel Shutdown

The Supreme Court has stayed a directive by the Madras High Court that required YouTuber Felix Jerald to close his channel 'RedPix 24x7'. Jerald was initially arrested for hosting an 'objectionable' interview with fellow YouTuber Savukku Shankar. Despite maintaining other bail conditions, the order for the channel's closure was deemed harsh.

The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the Madras High Court directive ordering YouTuber Felix Jerald to shut down his channel 'RedPix 24x7' as a bail condition. This decision came after Jerald was arrested for airing an 'objectionable' interview with another YouTuber, Savukku Shankar.

In the interview, Shankar had made contentious remarks targeting Madras High Court judges and female police officers in the state, leading to their arrests. Despite granting bail, the high court mandated Jerald to close his channel, which has over 2.4 million subscribers, a decision the Supreme Court found to be excessively harsh.

A bench led by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud asked the state government to respond to the stay while maintaining other bail conditions. The bench emphasized that making allegations against judiciary and women IPS officers was unacceptable. Meanwhile, Shankar faces multiple legal challenges, including cases for alleged possession of illegal substances and derogatory comments about women police personnel.

(With inputs from agencies.)