A view of the Supreme Court of India in New Delhi.
| Photo Credit: Sushil Kumar Verma
The Supreme Court on July 10 stayed the arrest of editor and publisher of YouTube channel Marunadan Malayali, Shajan Skaria, in a case registered on a complaint by MLA P.V. Sreenijin under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
“His statements may be defamatory, but these are not offences under the Act. He may have said something against the father-in-law [of the complainant], judiciary, etc, which may be in bad taste,” Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud observed orally.
The apex court’s interim protection came on the appeal filed by Mr. Skaria after the Kerala High Court dismissed his plea for anticipatory bail.
The case was registered on the allegation that Mr. Skaria had intentionally humiliated Mr. Sreenijin by making false allegations and accusations through a video uploaded on his channel.
Senior advocate V. Giri, for Mr. Sreenijin, urged the court to at least go through the transcript of the video.
However, the court said it had gone through the transcript and was doubtful whether Mr. Skaria’s comments amounted to a caste slur.
Mr. Giri said the key lay in finding out whether Mr. Skaria had a deliberate intention to insult on the basis of caste. He said that it depended on whether the person had the intention to insult on the basis of caste status and it had to be gathered from the facts.
The court issued notice to Mr. Sreenijin through Mr. Giri. The State of Kerala, represented by senior advocate Ranjit Kumar and advocate Nishe Rajen Shonker, also accepted notice.
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