Madras High Court grants bail to journalist Felix Jerald, asks him to shut down YouTube channel

Jerald had aired an interview with whistleblower ‘Savukku’ Shankar in which the latter had made defamatory remarks against women police personnel. In the interview done by Jerald, Shankar made defamatory comments against women police personnel alleging that they make compromises with senior officials to get postings in the department.

Chennai: Senior journalist Felix Jerald, who was arrested by the Tamil Nadu police in May for airing an interview with whistleblower ‘Savukku’ Shankar in which the latter made defamatory remarks against women police personnel, has been asked to shut down his YouTube channel by the Madras High Court.

While granting bail to Jerald, Justice T V Thamilselvi also asked him not to give any interview about the case till the completion of trial in the case. The journalist was arrested on May 10 from New Delhi, he camping to meet office-bearers of the Press Council of India (PCI) regarding cases pending against him.

The judge said Jerald’s conduct shows that he indulged in the same controversial activities under the guise of an interview, referring to an undertaking given by Jerald when he applied for anticipatory bail in November 2022 in connection with an interview on his channel that made “highly derogatory” and “defamatory” allegations against politicians.

However, the court granted bail to Jerald since the co-accused (Shankar) has also been granted bail – but he is still in prison in a different case-- and taking on file the report filed by police.

“The petitioner is directed to close his YouTube channel Red Pix 24*7 and shall file an affidavit of undertaking before the trial court that he would not indulge in similar type of activities in future. Further, the petitioner shall not give any interview about this case till the completion of the trial,” the judge added.

Shankar, a whistleblower-turned-journalist, was arrested by the Coimbatore Police on May 4 from a hotel room in Theni for making derogatory comments in an interview with Red Pix following which Jerald was also taken into custody.

In the interview done by Jerald, Shankar made defamatory comments against women police personnel alleging that they make compromises with senior officials to get postings in the department. At one point in the interview, Shankar also calls a police officer a “scoundrel.”

Gerald was booked under 294(b) (obscene acts and songs), 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman), and 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), of IPC, Section 4 of Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Harassment of Woman Act and Section 67 of Information Technology Act, 2000.

Shankar and Gerald were vociferous in their criticism against the DMK government led by Chief Minister M K Stalin. The duo had come under criticism in the past for going “overboard” in their criticism of the Chief Minister and his cabinet colleagues by dragging their personal lives.