Recently, a court in Chennai sentenced S. Ve Shekher, a Tamil actor and BJP leader, to one month in jail for his 2018 social media posts containing derogatory, vulgar, and abusive remarks about women journalists. Additionally, the court imposed a fine of ₹15,000 on him.

Despite paying the fine, the actor-turned-politician's jail sentence was suspended by the court to afford him the opportunity to appeal in a higher court. The court further noted that allegations against S. Ve. Shekher have been substantiated beyond doubt.

The verdict follows the Madras High Court's decision in 2023 to reject the plea to dismiss multiple criminal cases against the BJP leader.

In 2018, S Ve Shekher shared a Facebook post containing derogatory remarks about a woman journalist who had objected to being patted on the cheek by then Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit at an official event. The post suggested that the governor "should wash his hands with phenyl" for touching her.

Following immense outrage, S Ve Shekher deleted the post, which also referred to women journalists as "illiterate", "stupid", and "ugly". He issued an apology, stating that he had shared the post without thoroughly reading its contents.

S Ve Shekher presented a similar defense in court, asserting that he had shared the post without fully comprehending its contents. Nevertheless, the court dismissed his argument, emphasizing that he should have exercised social responsibility before sharing such content online.

S Ve Shekher was initially elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) from the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) party. Subsequently, he switched to the Congress party before ultimately joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).