Quash notice for in-person questioning: Twitter head

Bengaluru: Twitter India Managing Director Manish Maheshwari on Thursday sought the quashing of a notice issued by the Uttar Pradesh police seeking his physical presence in connection with a case registered

Bengaluru: Twitter India Managing Director Manish Maheshwari on Thursday sought the quashing of a notice issued by the Uttar Pradesh police seeking his physical presence in connection with a case registered.

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The UP Police had insisted that Maheshwari appearing before them in person while he had offered to give a statement over video conferencing with regards to a video that alleged an elderly Muslim man in Ghaziabad was a victim of hate crime. Police said that their investigation later revealed that the incident was over a personal dispute and booked nine people, including Twitter India, for allegedly circulating false information to fan communal tension.

Appearing on behalf of Maheshwari before the single bench of Justice G Narendar in the Karnataka high court, his counsel C V Nagesh contended that the notice under Section 41 -A of the CrPC was issued without jurisdiction, without the sanction of law.

Section 41-A refers to a notice of appearance before a police officer.

“The IO (investigating officer) was not satisfied because there was a hidden agenda. Then what he (IO) did is, he invoked the powers under Section 41-A of the CrPC, which is not right. Law does not empower him (the IO) to do so. It is an act which has been done without the sanction of law,” the counsel argued.

Nagesh argued that the Karnataka high court had the jurisdiction to hear the matter as part of the cause of action that arose in the state. “I’m a resident of Bengaluru, my office is in Bengaluru, the notice came to be issued to be my official email ID which is based in Bangalore. A part of the cause of action arose here, in this state, “argued Nagesh.

Maheshwari had told the Karnataka high court on Tuesday that he was ready to appear before the UP Police if they guaranteed that they will not arrest him, even as the single-judge bench asked the police if they had ascertained that Twitter India was capable of controlling the content on its platform.

(With inputs from PTI)