Delhi court reserves order on Mohammed Zubair's bail plea
Delhi's Patiala House Court has reserved the order on the bail application of Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair, who is facing a trial in connection with a contentious tweet he posted in 2018. The order on Delhi Police's application seeking his 14-day judicial custody was also reserved. Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Snigdha Sarvaria is likely to pass the order on both applications later on Saturday.
Why does this story matter?
The Delhi Police on Monday arrested Zubair after registering an FIR based on a right-wing social media account's complaint. The account tagged the Delhi Police on social media, seeking action against Zubair for allegedly "hurting religious sentiments." The police reportedly arrested Zubair after summoning him in a 2020 case without serving any prior notice for questioning in the above-mentioned case as mandated by law.
Police informed about Zubair's custody in a mix-up
The Indian Express reported that in confusion, the police had informed that the court had sent Zubair to 14-day judicial custody. However, Zubair's lawyer questioned the report. This prompted DCP KPS Malhotra to clarify that he had misheard the order. "I had a word with my IO, I misheard it due to noise and inadvertently the message was posted in the broadcast," Malhotra said.
Delhi Police slaps criminal conspiracy charges against Zubair
The Delhi Police also invoked additional charges against Zubair under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence) and Section 35 of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act. The Delhi High Court had on Friday issued notice to the Delhi Police on Zubair's plea challenging the lower court order allowing his police custody and seizure of his laptop.
Rs. 50 lakh transaction in Zubair's account
The police alleged Zubair's bank account had witnessed a transaction of Rs. 50 lakh in recent days. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Cybercrime) Malhotra stated, "We've found transactions over Rs. 50 lakh... These were made in the last three months. We are looking into this." Pratik Sinha, another co-founder of Alt News, termed the allegation as "absolute lies," referring to his bank account statement copy.
Money received by Alt News parent company
The Delhi Police IFSO unit said that a total of about Rs. 2,31,933 has been received by Pravda Media, Alt News's parent company. "From the analysis of the reply received from Razorpay payment gateway, various transactions, with phone numbers or IP addresses outside India, were from locations including, Bangkok, Manama, North-Holland, Singapore, Victoria, New York, England, Riyadh Region," said the police.
Case registered over Zubair's tweet against Lord Hanuman
ANI earlier quoted the police as saying the case was registered based on a complaint by Twitter user Hanuman Bhakt (@balajikijaiin) over a 2018 tweet by Zubair against Lord Hanuman. Zubair posted an image of a hotel signboard, writing, "BEFORE 2014: Honeymoon Hotel. After 2014: Hanuman Hotel." User Hanuman Bhakt urged cops to take action as Zubair's tweet was a "direct insult to Hindus."
Zubair targeted because of his name, faith, profession: Lawyer
On Tuesday, Zubair's lawyer Vrinda Grover told the Delhi court her client had only shared a screenshot from a 1983 movie—Hrishikesh Mukherjee's classic Kissi Se Na Kehna—that was cleared by the censor board. Grover said many others had also tweeted the same. Yet, Zubair was targeted because of his name, faith, and profession, she claimed, referring to him being a Muslim and a journalist.
Zubair detained under IPC Sections 153, 295A
Zubair was arrested by the Delhi Police under Sections 153 and 295A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), ANI reported. While Section 153 pertains to "wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot," Section 295A concerns "deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs," as per Indian Kanoon.
