CHENNAI: The Madras High Court judges have firmly stated that they will not recuse themselves from hearing the petition filed by the police seeking cancellation of the interim bail granted to YouTuber Savukku Shankar in the fraud case.

YouTuber Savukku Shankar was arrested on December 13 last year based on cheating cases registered against him by the Adambakkam and Saidapet police.

In a habeas corpus petition filed by his mother, A Kamala, seeking his release on medical grounds, the High Court granted him interim bail until March 25.

Meanwhile, when the petition filed by the Saidapet Inspector of Police seeking cancellation of the interim bail came up for hearing before the bench of Justices P Velmurugan and M Jothiraman, the judges questioned Savukku Shankar, asking whether he could actively engage in other activities after obtaining bail on medical grounds.

When the case was taken up again on Monday, the judges asked why the counter affidavit had not yet been filed despite their earlier direction to do so. The counsel representing Shankar's mother, Kamala, informed the court that the party was filing an application regarding apprehension of bias, and the bench orally commented that if the party had any apprehension, they could proceed on the administrative side and get orders from the Chief Justice.

"If you have any apprehension, you can proceed. But we can't wait. We can't keep the matter pending. We are not concerned about individual apprehension. We are only concerned about the system. We can't run the court for people who have apprehension," the judges noted.

The judges also made it clear that they would not recuse from hearing the case merely because the party had an apprehension of bias and directed Kamala to file the counter by Tuesday, adding that they would hear the case and pass orders.