The Madras High Court has granted bail to YouTuber ‘Savukku’ Shankar alias A. Shankar, 50, in an attempt-to-murder case registered against him after he allegedly pelted stones at the escort police personnel who accompanied him to Chennai pursuant to his arrest in Ongole, Andhra Pradesh, on April 8, 2026.

Justice L. Victoria Gowri granted the relief on the condiition that the petitioner, after his release from prison, must appear before the Inspector of Puzhal police station every day until further orders. He was further directed to cooperate with the investigation and appear for police inquiry as and when required.

Habeas corpus petition

In the meantime, a summer vacation Bench comprising Justices Gowri and N. Senthilkumar also ordered notice, returnable by a week, to the Greater Chennai City Police on a habeas corpus petition (HCP) filed by Mr. Shankar’s nephew D. Bharath, 26, challenging his uncle’s preventive detention under the Goondas Act.

The HCP would be listed for hearing before the next vacation Bench of Justices G.R. Swaminathan and V. Lakshminarayanan on May 20, 2026. The Greater Chennai Commissioner of Police passed the detention order on April 9, 2026, on the basis of the attempt-to-murder case and other criminal cases pending against him.

However, in his bail application, Mr. Shankar had denied the occurrence of the stone-pelting incident within the jurisdiction of the Puzhal police on April 8. He accused the police of having cooked up a “concocted story” to establish disturbance to public order and consequently invoke the preventive detention law against him.

What is the case about?

According to the prosecution, Mr. Shankar was arrested in Ongole for not having surrendered at the Puzhal central prison even after the expiry of his bail period in another criminal case. A special police team had secured him at Ongole after a long chase and brought him to Chennai by road on April 8.

Since he was a diabetic, he requested them to stop the vehicle on the way for a personal break, so the police halted the vehicle near Kavankarai in Puzhal. The other four accused – K. Malathi, S. Gopinath, Praveen, and Raju – had followed the police vehicle all the way from Ongole.

Suddenly, all five accused assembled on the road, picked up a quarrel with the police personnel, abused them using obscene words, and began pelting stones at them, thereby creating disturbance to public order. Hence, the Puzhal police had registered the attempt-to-murder case against them and sent them to judicial custody.

The FIR had been registered under Sections 296(b) (uttering obscene words), 125 (indulging in acts endangering the personal safety of others), 132 (using criminal force to deter public servant), 109(1) (attempt to murder), and 351(3) (criminal intimidation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.