‘How Many Can You Jail?’ Asks SC Restoring YouTuber’s Bail; Know Others Who Speak Their Mind

New Delhi:  The Supreme Court on Monday restored the bail granted to a YouTuber who allegedly made derogatory remarks against Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin saying that everyone who makes allegations on social media cannot be jailed.

The bench, comprising Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan, said that there was no evidence to suggest that A Duraimurugan Sattai had misused the liberty granted to him. During the hearing, Justice Oka raised a crucial question, addressing Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, who represented the State, stating, “If before elections, we start putting behind bars everyone who makes allegations on Youtube, imagine how many will be jailed?”

Social media and elections

Social media has influenced voting in the past two elections – 2014 and 2019 with YouTubers capturing the political ideologies of young Indians. Here are some.

Druv Rathee

At 23, he was among the first to discover the potential of YouTube for political debates. Rathee began his video blog in 2013 with 1.4 million subscribers. He began his video blog as a way for him to document his travels but it took a political turn a few months after the 2014 general election. Today, he has 17.2 million subscribers. His constant criticism of the powers that be notwithstanding this is what his description of himself on his channel says: I love breaking down complex issues in simple words. Learning, Awareness and Education is the purpose of this channel. Dhruv Rathee is a YouTube educator whose expertise lies in doing simplified and objective explainers of complex topics. Educate yourself on important things which matter in your life and learn how you can make the world a better place for yourself and for everyone else! Be the change you want to see.

Akash Banerjee

His #TheDeshBhakt is India’s first & largest political & social satire platform. The description reads: We aim to make politics/social issues easier to digest and fun to discuss – especially for the digital generation. We are equal opportunity offenders who believe that all political parties are the same and the citizenry MUST QUESTION EVERYTHING AND EVERYONE to safeguard the interests of the country and democracy.

Kumar Shyam

His description simply reads: Hi – I’m Shyam! On this channel, I make videos on various topics with different perspective and views.