Delhi High Court on Friday granted bail to fact-checking agency Alt News’ co-founder Mohammad Zubair in connection with the 2018 tweet case. Zubair was arrested a month ago, on June 27.
The bail was granted on a personal bond and surety of Rs 50,000. The court directed the journalist not to leave the country without its permission.
The court observed, “Hindu religion is one of the oldest religions, and most tolerant. The followers of the Hindu religion are also tolerant. Therefore, naming of an institute, facility or organization or child in the name of Hindu Deity on the face of it, is not violative of Section 153A and 295A IPC unless the same is done with malice/guilty intention.”
The court said that the movie “Kissi see na kehna,” a scene of which Zubair’s tweet is based on, passed the censor board, and no complaint has been filed against it now about hurt sentiments.
A magisterial court had on July 2 dismissed his bail plea and sent him to 14-day judicial custody (JC) in the case, citing the nature and gravity of the offences against the accused and observing that the matter was at the initial stage of the investigation.
Zubair’s lawyer, Umang Rawat said that the journalist’s arrest was “malafide” and made under “political pressure” since the tweet in question is four years old. Delhi Police special public prosecutor (SPP) Atul Srivastava argued that bail should not be granted at this stage, saying that Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) is involved.
The SPP argued that Zubair’s organisation Alt News received funding from foreign nations under the guise of donations.
Stating that the tweet “planned in a clever way,” the Delhi Police said that “56 lakh rupees were received by the organisation, violating FCRA. There is also a certain forgery in this case.”
As per the FIR, accused Zubair had used a screengrab of an old Hindi movie which showed an image of a hotel, with its board reading ‘Hanuman hotel’ instead of ‘Honeymoon hotel’.
In his tweet, Zubair had written, “BEFORE 2014: Honeymoon Hotel. After 2014: Hanuman Hotel.”
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