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A. Shankar @ Savukku Shankar v. State of Tamil Nadu

Writ Petition (Criminal) · 2025 INSC 284Decided 24 Feb 2025
Writ Petition (Criminal) No. 340 of 2024
Chief Justice · Justice Sanjay Kumar

Background

The petitioner, a social-media commentator known as "Savukku Shankar," faced a cluster of roughly fifteen separate criminal cases registered across different police stations in Tamil Nadu in 2024, arising out of the same set of allegedly offensive social-media statements (Section 509 IPC, insulting a woman's modesty, read with Tamil Nadu's anti-harassment law and Section 67 of the Information Technology Act, among other provisions). He approached the Supreme Court by writ petition seeking relief regarding the multiplicity and handling of these overlapping investigations.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court did not rule on the merits of the underlying allegations at all. Instead, it streamlined the investigation by directing that the main FIR (registered with the Cyber Crime Police Station, Coimbatore) continue, while the material and evidence gathered in the roughly fourteen other, related FIRs across various Tamil Nadu police stations be transferred to and examined together by the same Investigating Officer handling the lead case. The Court expressly clarified it was not commenting on the merits or the manner of investigation, and directed that chargesheets or closure reports be filed in due course as per law. It also flagged that the petitioner remained bound by a prior 2022 Supreme Court order in a separate criminal appeal, and that any breach of that order could be raised before the Court by any affected party.

Lesson Learnt

When a person faces multiple, near-identical FIRs across different police jurisdictions arising from the same conduct, the Supreme Court can direct that all the related investigations be consolidated under one Investigating Officer for efficiency: this is a procedural streamlining, not a verdict on guilt or innocence, and does not shield a person from consequences if they later breach other binding court orders.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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