New Delhi:
Fact-checker Mohammad Zubair’s lawyer told a Delhi court today that “formatting a phone is not illegal”, while police claimed a criminal conspiracy, saying the matter was “not just a simple tweet”.
The arguments came up during the hearing on his bail plea, which was embroiled in controversyThat too, when the police said that he was denied bail even when the court was yet to announce the decision.
Alt News co-founder Mr. Zubair was arrested four year old tweet Barely a month after he allegedly hurt religious sentiments, on June 27, he flagged off a video of suspended BJP leader Nupur Sharma speaking against Prophet Mohammad in a TV show. He was in police custody for the last five days.
Opposing his bail plea in Delhi’s Patiala House Court today, police said Mr. Zubair got Donations from countries like Pakistan and Syria. He said that sections related to destruction of evidence (format phone and deleted tweets) and criminal conspiracy have been added to the FIR. Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010.
The police lawyer argued, “It is not a time-barred case. It is still a continuing offense as the tweet is still there.”
Mr Zubair’s lawyer underlined that the tweet was a screenshot of the 1983 film ‘Kisi Se Na Kehna’ which was cleared by the censor board. But the police said that when the film was released, it was not the age of the internet.
Police said, “The donation is from Pakistan, Syria, so considering the seriousness, it is not just a matter of a simple tweet. He cleverly deleted everything. It is important to delete the data from the phone after the FIR.”
But Zubair’s lawyer told the court that he was not aware of the FIR till his arrest on June 27. The FIR was registered on June 20 after a police officer noticed a tweet objecting to Mr Zubair’s tweet. On the day of his arrest, he was called for questioning in another case in which a court had already granted him protection from arrest.
Advocate Vrinda Grover said, “I (Zubair) was not aware of the FIR and the phone was not summoned. Formatting my phone is not illegal. It is not arms and ammunition or drugs. I am serious legal. And take constitutional objections.” , said on behalf of Mohammad Zubair.
“Formatting Phones Not Illegal”: Fact-checker Mohammad Zubair Seeks Bail, Faces Fresh Charges
New Delhi:
Fact-checker Mohammad Zubair’s lawyer told a Delhi court today that “formatting a phone is not illegal”, while police claimed a criminal conspiracy, saying the matter was “not just a simple tweet”.
The arguments came up during the hearing on his bail plea, which was embroiled in controversyThat too, when the police said that he was denied bail even when the court was yet to announce the decision.
Alt News co-founder Mr. Zubair was arrested four year old tweet Barely a month after he allegedly hurt religious sentiments, on June 27, he flagged off a video of suspended BJP leader Nupur Sharma speaking against Prophet Mohammad in a TV show. He was in police custody for the last five days.
Opposing his bail plea in Delhi’s Patiala House Court today, police said Mr. Zubair got Donations from countries like Pakistan and Syria. He said that sections related to destruction of evidence (format phone and deleted tweets) and criminal conspiracy have been added to the FIR. Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010.
The police lawyer argued, “It is not a time-barred case. It is still a continuing offense as the tweet is still there.”
Mr Zubair’s lawyer underlined that the tweet was a screenshot of the 1983 film ‘Kisi Se Na Kehna’ which was cleared by the censor board. But the police said that when the film was released, it was not the age of the internet.
Police said, “The donation is from Pakistan, Syria, so considering the seriousness, it is not just a matter of a simple tweet. He cleverly deleted everything. It is important to delete the data from the phone after the FIR.”
But Zubair’s lawyer told the court that he was not aware of the FIR till his arrest on June 27. The FIR was registered on June 20 after a police officer noticed a tweet objecting to Mr Zubair’s tweet. On the day of his arrest, he was called for questioning in another case in which a court had already granted him protection from arrest.
Advocate Vrinda Grover said, “I (Zubair) was not aware of the FIR and the phone was not summoned. Formatting my phone is not illegal. It is not arms and ammunition or drugs. I am serious legal. And take constitutional objections.” , said on behalf of Mohammad Zubair.