The lawyer of Alt News co-founder Mohammad Zubair has said that the ‘bail denied order leaked’. He further added that the ‘judge hasn’t come yet’.
Soutik Banerjee, the lawyer who is representing the journalist Mohammad Zubair said to news agency ANI, “The judge hasn’t come after lunch yet. Shocked to see that DCP KPS Malhotra has leaked in media that our bail plea has been rejected and 14-day judicial custody granted”
“Extremely scandalous & speaks of status of rule of law in our country today that even before judicial magistrate has sat & pronounced the order, Police has leaked the order to media. How KPS Malhotra knows what the order is beyond me. This calls for introspection”, Soutik Bannerjee added.
Various media reports had said Alt News co-founder Mohammad Zubair’s custody with the Delhi police has been extended for another 14 days after his bail plea was rejected by the Delhi’s Patiala House Court.
The Delhi police on the police on Saturday said that Pravda Media, the parent company of Alt News of which Zubair is the co-founder, received funds amounting to ₹2,31,933 from foreign countries.
Zubair was produced before the court after his 4-day police remand came to an end today. The Delhi Police had sought his judicial custody.
Zubair was arrested on 27 June, following a complaint raised by a Twitter user- Hanuman Bhakt who said that a tweet posted by Zubair in 2018 of a movie poster that was released in 1983 had hurt religious sentiments of the followers of a Hindu deity.
Presenting the argument in the court, Advocate Vrinda Grover, representing Mohammad Zubair, said, “The mentioned tweet belonged to film ‘Kissi Se Na Kehna’ by Hrishikesh Mukherjee, it’s a lovely comedy and was allowed by censor board…They say the tweet is provocative & sensitive, but still no direction from Twitter to remove it.”
The lawyer argued that formatting the phone is not illegal.
“I was not aware of the FIR and phone was not summoned… It’s not illegal to format my phone. It is not arms & ammunition, or a drug… It’s not illegal to format my phone… I take serious legal & constitutional objections,” Grover said.
Meanwhile, Atul Shrivastava, representing Delhi Police sought the dismissal of the bail plea stating that there are donations from countries like Pakistan and Syria and therefore the case is “not just of a simple tweet”.
“It is not a case of time-barred… It is still a continuing offence as the tweet is still there… When the film was released, it was not the age of the internet. Donations are from Pakistan, Syria, so considering gravity, it’s not just a case of a simple tweet…accused is Pravda Media director, he smartly deleted everything…In such circumstances, bail application should be dismissed…deletion of data from phone after FIR is important.”
Delhi Police has sought judicial custody of Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair after his 4-day remand ended on Saturday in a case related to an alleged objectionable tweet.
The police have also alleged conspiracy and destruction of evidence in the case by the accused and the relevant sections of the same were added in the FIR.
The police also stated in the court that Zubair received donations from foreign countries. Delhi Police have added three new Sections – 201 (for the destruction of evidence – formatted phone and deleted tweets), 120-(B) (for criminal conspiracy) of IPC and 35 of Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010, in the matter.
The FIR against Zubair was lodged on June 20 based on the complaint filed by the Duty Officer of the IFSO unit of the Delhi Police Special Cell which tackles cyber crimes.
Zubair was arrested and sent to one day of police custody after a First Information Report (FIR) was registered against him based on a Twitter posting, which another Twitter handle alleged “hurt Hindu sentiments.”
Delhi Police said that Zubair was evasive during questioning and did not cooperate in the investigation. “He was evasive on the questions and neither provided the necessary technical equipment for the purpose of the investigation nor cooperated in the investigation,” said Delhi Police senior officials.
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