Fake videos on labourers: SC refuses to entertain plea of jailed Bihar YouTuber against invoking of NSA

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a plea of jailed Bihar YouTuber Manish Kashyap against whom the stringent National Security Act (NSA) has been invoked for allegedly circulating fake videos of migrant labourers being attacked in Tamil Nadu.

A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala, however, granted Kashyap the liberty to challenge the invocation of the NSA at an appropriate judicial forum.

It also rejected the plea for clubbing all 19 FIRs against him and their transfer to Bihar.

“We are not inclined to entertain the plea,” the bench said while rejecting the vehement submissions of senior advocate Maninder Singh, appearing for Kashyap who is presently lodged in Madurai jail of Tamil Nadu.

Earlier, the top court had granted time to the Tamil Nadu government, represented by lawyer Amit Anand Tiwari, to respond to the amended plea of Kashyap against whom the stringent NSA was invoked for allegedly circulating the videos.

The arrested Youtuber faces several FIRs and out of them, three have been lodged in Bihar.

The top court had on April 11 issued notice to the Centre, the Tamil Nadu and Bihar governments on Kashyap’s plea seeking clubbing of the FIRs lodged against him and their transfer to his native state.