SC to hear Zubair’s plea on UP FIR today as lawyer cites threats

Zubair has been booked for promoting enmity between two groups and for misusing social media platforms.

The Supreme Court will hear on Friday Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair’s petition challenging the Allahabad high court’s refusal to quash a First Information Report (FIR) against him in Uttar Pradesh, after his lawyer alleged he was facing death threats and pointed at the extreme urgency of the matter.

Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair. (ANI)

The FIR was filed against the journalist in Sitapur on June 1, on a complaint by Bhagwan Sharan, district president of local Hindu outfit Hindu Sher Sena, for allegedly inflaming communal passions by calling three controversial right-wing leaders “spreaders of hatred”. One of the three is Yati Narsinghanand Saraswati, priest of Dasna Devi temple in Ghaziabad, who is facing multiple charges in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh for alleged hate speeches at a Dharam Sansad in Haridwar last year.

Zubair has been booked for promoting enmity between two groups and for misusing social media platforms.

On June 10, the Lucknow bench of Allahabad high court refused to quash the FIR against the journalist, saying the matter is at a “premature stage” and that there is “sufficient ground for investigation in the case”.

A Sitapur court on Thursday granted UP Police custody of the journalist till July 14.

Taking note of the journalist’s plea, a bench of justices Indira Banerjee and J K Maheshwari in the top court gave the go-ahead for listing the matter on Friday subject to clearance from the CJI.

“It is mentioned that there is urgency in the matter. Let the matter be listed on July 8 before the appropriate bench subject to assignment,” the order said.

In the court, Zubair’s counsel Colin Gonsalves raised serious concerns over his safety. “...anticipatory bail has been rejected as premature. There are death threats. People on the other side are very anxious. They would kill him. This matter has to be heard urgently as we are worried about his safety,” he said.

The journalist also filed a separate application, citing a string of purported threats on Twitter and seeking immediate release from judicial custody of Delhi Police in connection with another case.

“Hundreds of tweets are being made on Twitter tagging the police authorities calling for ‘custodial violence’ of the petitioner and warning him of ‘consequences’ for the work he had been diligently doing,” the application filed through advocate Satya Mitra said.

“These online vigilante groups and accounts are baying for the life of the petitioner and have real-life consequences. The petitioner is fearful for his life and believes that extension of police custody in Sitapur would cause him immense hardship and would put his life at risk,” it added.

Zubair was arrested by Delhi Police on June 27 for allegedly hurting religious sentiments through a tweet in 2018, satirising a 1983 movie sequence. On July 2, he was denied bail by a Delhi court and sent to judicial custody for two weeks.

He has been booked for promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, criminal conspiracy and disappearance of evidence among other sections of Indian Penal Code and Foreign Contribution Regulation Act by Delhi Police. His lawyers have called it a blatant case of malafide.

On July 4, he was taken to Sitapur in connection with the FIR registered there.

Zubair sought his release till the time his appeal challenging the high order was pending before the top court.

The Uttar Pradesh Police have sought his custodial interrogation.