The Supreme Court of India
Credit: DH File Photo
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to consider an appeal filed by popular YouTuber, Savukku Shankar, challenging the Madras High Court’s order refusing to interfere with the sealing of its office premises at Chennai.
"Don't think the writ court is the panacea for all ills. Sorry. Dismissed," a bench led by Justice Dipankar Datta said.
The High Court had on December 30, 2025 relegated him to approach the jurisdictional Magistrate under Sections 105 (mandates the mandatory audio-video recording of all search and seizure processes by police), 106 and 107 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS).
Section 106 of BNSS grants police officers the power to seize property suspected of being stolen or involved in a crime, requiring mandatory reporting to superiors and magistrates.
After this, Shankar through his counsel Balaji Srinivasan approached the apex court by filing a special leave petition.
Srinivasan sought a direction for unsealing the petitioner's office premises situated in Chennai, claiming, "the impugned order is perverse and unsustainable for many reasons."
His plea claimed, sealing of immovable property under Section 106 of BNSS, was in direct contravention of the binding law.
"The HC's order fails to examine the foundational issue of lack of power of the police authorities, and mechanically relegates the petitioner to an alternate remedy. It equates filing of a police report with legality, even where the initial seizure/sealing is ex facie ultra vires. It ignores that property sealed is wholly unconnected to the alleged offence," the plea stated.
Shankar, a vocal critic of DMK government, faced multiple FIRs, including preventive detention in the recent past.