New Delhi: A Delhi court on Friday granted bail to AltNews co-founder Mohammad Zubair, saying that the free dissemination of information, concept of core ideas and free exchange of ideas are basic indicators of a free society. Huh.
Granting bail on the condition that he will furnish a surety of Rs 50,000 and not leave the country, the Patiala House Court also said that followers of Hinduism are “tolerant” and political parties in India are “open to criticism”.
However, he will remain behind bars as there are several FIRs registered against him in Uttar Pradesh.
In the present case, Zubair was arrested on June 27. Summoned In connection with a separate case from 2020 by the Delhi Police Cyber Cell (IFSO) in which he was granted interim protection even before his arrest.
The new case pertains to a fact-checker’s 2018 tweet, which was reported to the Delhi Police on June 19 by a Twitter user – ‘Hanuman Bhakt’, alleging that it ‘hurt their religious sentiments’ .
still showing from tell no one, A 1983 Hindi film directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee, the tweet in question read: “Before 2014: Honeymoon Hotel, After 2014: Hanuman Hotel.”
Zubair was initially booked under sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups) and 295A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). police later extra charge Receipt of foreign money punishable under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) along with criminal conspiracy and destruction of evidence.
‘The film has CBFC certificate, Hindus are tolerant’
Arguing against Zubair’s bail plea, the prosecution said that the image of the 1983 film hurts the religious sentiments of Hindus and is sufficient to spread hatred, which are punishable under 295A and 153A respectively.
The prosecution further claimed that the 2014 reference points to a “prejudiced manner” of presenting the state of affairs “towards the ruling political party”.
The court, while granting bail to the journalist, said that Zubair had posted a picture of a 1983 film which was certified by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), a statutory body of the Government of India, and had no complaints. . Once filed with the claim that the particular scene has hurt religious sentiments.
Additional Sessions Judge Devendra Kumar Jangla observed that the tweet was posted in 2018, while no other complaint was received this time, alleging that the tweet was derogatory to the Hindu community or disrespected Lord Hanuman.
“Hinduism is one of the oldest and most tolerant religions. The followers of Hinduism are also tolerant. Hinduism is so tolerant that its followers proudly name their institution/organisation/facilities after their holy god or goddess,” the judge said.
On the prosecution’s plea on the mention of 2014, the year in which Narendra Modi took over as Prime Minister, the court observed that “in Indian democracy, political parties are open to criticism”.
The court further observed that “voice of dissent is essential for a healthy democracy” and therefore, it is not appropriate to invoke 153A and 295A to criticize only one political party.
Police failed to find ‘angry’ user, foreign donation
Noting that the Delhi Police has failed to establish the identity of the Twitter user who was allegedly hurt by Zubair’s tweet, the judge observed that the police also failed to record the statement of the offended person under Section 161 CrPC. Even though they were bound to move on. With their investigation in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
On FCRA’s charge against Zubair, the court said that the record reflects a statement on AltNews’s website which states that only Indian citizens with Indian bank accounts should contribute to it. The judge said that this prima facie shows proper precautions taken by Zubair as per Section 39 of the FCRA.
Last week, RazorPay CEO Harshil Mathur – the payment gateway AltNews uses to receive donations – had said in a tweet that for AltNews, the platform only enables donations made from Indian bank accounts, which is the fintech company’s company. Complies with the policy of not allowing. International transactions without FCRA registration.
Delhi Police Claimed That AltNews’ parent company, Pravda Media Foundation had received funds worth over Rs 2 lakh from abroad including Pakistan and Syria.
(Edited by Amritansh Arora)
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