A Delhi court is likely to hear on Tuesday, July 12, a bail plea filed by Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair, in a case related to a tweet he had posted in 2018. Additional Sessions Judge Devender Kumar Jangala will hear Zubair's application against the order of a magisterial court which on July 2 had dismissed his bail plea and sent him to 14-day judicial custody in the case.
The magisterial court had cited the nature and gravity of the offences against Zubair and observed that the matter was at the initial stage of the investigation. The court had sent him to judicial custody for 14 days after his five-day custodial interrogation. Zubair is in custody till July 16.
In its order, the court had noted the submission of the public prosecutor that the investigation was at the initial stage and that there was every likelihood that police custody remand of the accused would be required. The judge also considered the addition of new sections during the course of the investigation while rejecting the bail application.
Zubair has been arrested for his 2018 tweet where he had shared a picture of a scene from a Hindi movie Kissi Se Na Kehna. He had been booked sections 153A (Promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc.) and 295A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) of the Indian Penal Code. The court said that the prosecution’s submission that these IPC charges are not made out is of no assistance to Zubair, as Section 35 (Punishment for contravention of any provision) of the FCRA has also been added and the investigation qua it is also pending.
“Even otherwise, at this stage, since the matter is at the initial stage of the investigation, this court shall not pass any orders as to what sections are being made out and what sections are not being made out,” the judge had added.
The Delhi High Court had earlier issued a notice to the Delhi Police on a plea moved by Zubair challenging the Patiala House Courts' order allowing his police custody and seizure of his laptop in connection with the alleged objectionable tweet.