Alt News co-founder Mohammad Zubair released, SC grants him interim bail in FIRs filed in UP

Satya Prakash

New Delhi, July 20

Alt News co-founder Mohammad Zubair was released from Tihar on Wednesday night, hours after being granted interim bail by the Supreme Court in all FIRs lodged in Uttar Pradesh against him over alleged hate speech, prison officials said.

Zubair was arrested by the Delhi Police on June 27 for allegedly hurting religious sentiments through his tweets. Holding that there was no justification in keeping Zubair in continuous custody, the Supreme Court on Wednesday granted him interim bail in all FIRs registered against him in Uttar Pradesh.

Refuses to restrain him from tweeting

How can a journalist be restrained from tweeting? If he violates law, he can be proceeded against. —SC Bench

A three-judge Bench led by Justice DY Chandrachud ordered clubbing of all six cases registered against him by the Uttar Pradesh Police with the one lodged against him in Delhi and said that the Special Cell of the Delhi Police would conduct the investigation.

The FIRs in UP were registered against Zubair at Hathras, Ghaziabad, Muzaffarnagar, Lakhimpur Kheri, Sitapur and Chandauli. The top court also ordered the disbanding of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) set up by the Uttar Pradesh Police on July 10. Zubair has also been accused of violating Foreign Contribution Regulation Act provisions and destruction of evidence. He was granted regular bail last week in the case registered against him by the Delhi Police.

The top court asked him to furnish a personal bond of Rs 20,000 before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Patiala House Courts. It asked the Tihar Jail Superintendent to release the accused by 6 pm.

Noting that the subject matter of all FIRs were the same tweets put out by the accused, the Bench said there was no justification in keeping Zubair in continuous custody when the Delhi court had granted him bail in a case registered by the Delhi Police, which was already investigating his tweets and the funding of his organisation.

All the FIRs registered by the UP Police shall stand transferred to the Delhi Police. It said any future FIR registered against him shall also get transferred to the Delhi Police. It also extended the benefit of interim bail in all such cases. The Bench turned down UP Additional Advocate General’s request to restrain him from tweeting anything.

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