Madras High Court Dismisses Savukku Shankar PIL Against IPS Officer A Arun

The Madras High Court in Chennai on Wednesday dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) petition filed by YouTuber Savukku Shankar seeking a CBI probe against senior IPS officer and DVAC director A Arun.

The first bench, comprising Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G Arul Murugan, ruled that the petition was not maintainable. The court established that PILs cannot be used as a forum to vindicate personal animosity or individual grievances.

Savukku Shankar had filed the writ petition seeking the CBI probe against Arun, pointing to adverse observations made against the officer by a division bench during a previous habeas corpus petition.

However, the high court bench stated that a PIL is a sacred tool intended to bring justice within the reach of the marginalized and vulnerable segments of society who are unable to approach the courts due to structural or economic socio-disabilities. It cannot be reduced to a forum for vindicating personal animosity, the judges noted.

The bench observed that the ultimate test of substance and public interest cannot be used as a shield to validate an action fundamentally rooted in personal animosity. In this case, the court found the record unmistakably clear regarding the petitioner’s personal grievance against the officer, which completely stripped the petition of its bona fide character.

According to the bench, the division bench order relied upon by Shankar explicitly recorded a hostile backdrop and serious personal allegations made by the petitioner against the officer. Consequently, the court ruled that the intent behind the petition could not be termed as purely public-spirited or bona fide, making the present PIL not maintainable.

Concluding the judgment, the bench held that Shankar lacked the bona fides required to sustain the action, citing authoritative pronouncements of the Supreme Court.