Fact-checker Mohammed Zubair was granted bail in one more case today but he will stay in jail over two more cases.
The co-founder of fact-checking website Alt News Mohammed Zubair has asked the Supreme Court to withdraw six cases filed against him by the Uttar Pradesh Police. He was granted bail in the case filed by the Delhi Police over a 2018 tweet, for which he was arrested last month, however, he will stay in jail for two cases filed in Uttar Pradesh.
Mr. Zubair has also asked that the Special Investigation Team formed to investigate the cases be called off. At a hearing on Tuesday, Mr. Zubair had requested the Supreme Court to grant him bail and had alleged that he was receiving death threats. Justices DY Chandrachud and AS Bopanna gave the UP government four weeks to respond to Mr. Zubair’s plea.
Mohammed Zubair was arrested on June 27 by the Delhi Police over his four-year-old tweet sharing a screenshot from a popular Hindi movie. He was charged and arrested days after he flagged a video of suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma’s provocative comments on Prophet Mohammed during a TV debate.
Three cases were filed in Lakhimpur Kheri, Hathras, and Sitapur over a tweet in which he called some right-wing leaders “hate mongers”.
In Lakhimpur, a Sudarshan News employee filed a case accusing Mr Zubair of misleading people about his channel’s coverage of the Israel-Palestine dispute.
That day, the Uttar Pradesh police formed a Special Investigation Team to probe multiple cases against him.
Rajdeep Sardesai tweets, “Delhi court grants bail to @zoo_bear in 2018 tweet case. But hold on: at least 6 cases still pending in various UP districts. Aim is simple: file multiple FIRs to make process the punishment. Will SC which spoke this week of ‘wrongful arrests’ by ‘police state’ step in now?”
Delhi court grants bail to @zoo_bear in 2018 tweet case. But hold on: at least 6 cases still pending in various UP districts. Aim is simple: file multiple FIRs to make process the punishment. Will SC which spoke this week of ‘wrongful arrests’ by ‘police state’ step in now? https://t.co/d3JheBffpy
— Rajdeep Sardesai (@sardesairajdeep) July 15, 2022
