The detailed order of the Supreme Court regarding Alt News co-founder and fact checker Mohammad Zubair was uploaded on the official website on Monday. The Supreme Court, in its order granting bail to Zubair, put the action of the UP government in the dock.
A bench headed by Justice DY Chandrachud, in its order, said that Zubair was implicated in the vicious circle of criminal process as the process itself has become punishment. The court said that the right of arrest given to the police is not unbridled. It should not be used as a punitive tool.
Zubair gets interim bail in all cases
In the hearing held on July 20, the Supreme Court had granted interim bail to fact checker Mohammad Zubair in all the cases registered. Not only this, the court had also raised questions on the order of arrest. The Supreme Court had also said that the power of arrest should be exercised with restraint. Zubair cannot be kept in custody indefinitely.
Now the Special Cell of Delhi Police will investigate
The Supreme Court clubbed all the cases registered against Zubair together. Now only one investigating agency will investigate in this case. The court transferred 6 FIRs registered in Uttar Pradesh to the Special Cell of Delhi Police. The SIT of UP constituted for investigation in this case has also been dissolved.
The Supreme Court said that Mohammad Zubair will be released on bail with a surety bond of Rs 20,000. The Supreme Court said that Zubair can approach the Delhi High Court to quash all or any of the FIRs lodged against him.
‘Zubair used to get money for inflammatory tweets’
At the same time, the UP government had said during the hearing in the court that Zubair used to get money in return for inflammatory tweets. The more inflammatory the post or tweet was, the more money was received.
The language of my tweet is not provocative: Zubair
On the other hand, advocate Vrinda Grover, appearing for Zubair, said that a new FIR has been registered against Zubair. Except in the case of Hathras, the tweet is the only subject in all the cases. One tweet remains the subject of investigation in all cases. Whereas earlier there was an FIR in Delhi regarding the tweet of 2018. In this, Zubair has also got bail, but the Delhi Police confiscated the laptop by expanding the scope of the investigation.
It was said on behalf of Zubair that the language of his tweet does not cross the threshold of provocation. In the FIR registered against him by the police, it is said that I have instigated Muslims globally! While I tagged the police to act as a citizen.
Where are the cases registered on Zubair?
FIRs have been registered against Zubair in Ghaziabad (Loni), Muzaffarnagar, Chandauli, Lakhimpur, Khairabad towns of Sitapur district, Sikandar Rao of Hathras and Hathras Kotwali police stations for making provocative tweets. All these FIRs will be transferred to Delhi Police.