Delhi court grants bail to Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair in 2018 tweet case

New Delhi: A Delhi court on Friday granted bail to Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair in a case related to an "objectionable" tweet he had posted in 2018 against a Hindu deity.

Additional Sessions Judge Devender Kumar Jangala granted the relief to Zubair on a bail bond of Rs 50,000 and one surety of the like amount, and directed him not to leave the country without its prior permission.

Zubair, however, will stay in jail as he has been named in first information reports (FIR) in Uttar Pradesh.

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 an initial stage of investigation.

What is the 2018 tweet case?

Zubair, in 2018, tweeted a screenshot of a scene from Hrishikesh Mukherjee's 1983 film Kisi Se Na Kehna and a person filed an FIR against him with the Delhi police.

He was arrested on June 27 in connection with the case under Sections 153A (Promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, etc.) and 295 (Injuring or defiling place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class) of the Indian Penal Code.

Published on: Friday, July 15, 2022, 05:03 PM IST