SC agrees to hear Mohammed Zubair's plea on quashing FIRs
Mohammed Zubair, the co-founder of Alt News, asked the Supreme Court on Monday for an immediate hearing on his petition to nullify FIRs filed against him in Uttar Pradesh districts for purportedly inciting religious sentiments. A court led by Chief Justice NV Ramana noted Zubair's counsel Vrinda Grover's argument that the fact-checker and journalist was facing many FIRs and needed an urgent hearing.
Why does this story matter?
In June, the Delhi Police arrested Zubair after registering an FIR based on a right-wing social media account's complaint, seeking action against him. Later, the police in Sitapur also booked Zubair for terming Mahant Bajrang Muni Udasin, Yati Narsinghanand, and Swami Anand Swarup "hatemongers" on Twitter. Notably, these leaders were accused of calling for Muslim genocide in Haridwar and Delhi on several occasions.
What did the court say?
"List it before Justice DY Chandrachud. You can mention before that bench," the Supreme Court stated. Zubair's new petition also challenges the Uttar Pradesh government's formation of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the six cases. The plea said all six Uttar Pradesh FIRs sent to the SIT for investigation are the subject matter of the Delhi Police special cell's FIR.
Several FIRs have been filed against Zubair in UP
Separate FIRs have been filed against Zubair in the districts of Sitapur, Lakhimpur Kheri, Ghaziabad, Muzaffarnagar, and Hathras for allegedly hurting religious sensibilities, making derogatory remarks about news anchors, allegedly disrespecting Hindu gods, and posting inflammatory content. On July 2, a magisterial court in Uttar Pradesh dismissed his bail plea and sent him to a new 14-day judicial custody in one of the cases.
Court ordered police to record statements than referring to tweets
Earlier, the court asked how many individuals were aggrieved by Zubair's 2018 post and if the police had documented comments. "You cannot go by the tweets and retweets. You have to go by the Code of Criminal Procedure and record the statement," it said. Notably, Zubair was first arrested by Delhi police on June 27 for a 2018 tweet satirizing a 1983 film sequence.
Arrested days after flagging Nupur Sharma's 'hurtful' comments
Notably, Zubair was initially arrested after highlighting comments made by the former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma on the Prophet Muhammed earlier this month. To recall, Sharma's remarks led to a diplomatic row, with a number of Muslim countries, including Qatar, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia, condemning the BJP. Following this, the Centre was compelled to distance itself from Sharma's statements, while the BJP suspended her.
Zubair targeted because of his name, faith, profession: Lawyer
Earlier, Zubair's lawyer, Vrinda Grover, reportedly stated in the Delhi Police case that her client had only shared a screenshot from a 1983 movie—Kissi Se Na Kehna—which 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.
