New Delhi: A court in Delhi Tuesday granted police four-day custody of fact-checker Mohammed Zubair in a case involving a tweet he had made in 2018. The police had sought five-day custody of Zubair. Appearing for Zubair, Advocate Vrinda Grover argued that the Alt News co-founder was being “maliciously targeted” and that the entire case “borders on absurdity.”
Rebutting Zubair’s counsel’s arguments, the Prosecution argued that Zubair’s “deliberate act of outraging religious sentiments was on record” and therefore his police remand was required. Zubair allegedly “used controversial tweets to hurt religious feelings in an effort to get fame”, the police told the court of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Snigdha Savaria where Zubair was produced after the expiration of his one-day police custody.
On Monday, Delhi police had arrested Zubair on charges of allegedly hurting religious sentiments following a complaint by a social media user who referred to a tweet from 2018. The police said they filed an FIR against Zubair in connection with the complaint under IPC sections 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups) and 295-A (malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings).
KPS Malhotra, DCP IFSO has previously said that the grounds for Zubair's arrest were produced based on two things: 'technical gadget' and 'intention', noting that the former was 'evasive on both'. "Two things including technical gadget and intention was important. He was evasive on both, the phone was formatted. This formed grounds for his arrest," Malhotra said. The police official, however, had denied any 'political motivation' behind the tweets in question.
Amnesty on Zubair's arrest
Harassment and arbitrary arrests of human rights defenders for tirelessly seeking truth and justice have become alarmingly commonplace in India, Amnesty India said on Tuesday, demanding immediate and unconditional release of fact-checking website Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair. Aakar Patel, chair of board for Amnesty International India, said the Indian authorities are targeting Zubair for his crucial work to combat the rise in fake news and disinformation and call out discrimination against minorities.
"The arrest of Mohammed Zubair shows the danger facing human rights defenders in India has reached a crisis point," Patel said in a statement.
