Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair's bail plea rejected in fact-check case

A sessions court in Uttar Pradesh's Mohammadi on Saturday rejected Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair's bail plea in a fact-check case.

The hearing on police custody remand will be held on July 20, Zubair's advocate Harjit Singh told news agency ANI.

Singh earlier in the day informed that the plaintiff had raised an objection regarding the bail plea filed in English, due to which the hearing (for the bail) was postponed.

Zubair was summoned by a Lakhimpur Kheri court in a case registered against him in September 2021, after a complaint was filed by a journalist of a news channel for a fact-check tweet.

The court sent him to judicial custody for 14-days on Monday.

He was presented before the court through video conferencing from Sitapur Jail.

A warrant was issued against him in Lakhimpur Kheri's Mohammadi, in a September 2021 case filed by a Sudarshan News employee for a fact-check tweet. The session court expected to hear his bail plea on July 13, which was postponed till today after the plaintiff raised an objection against the application from Zubair's end was filed in English.

Zubair was arrested and sent to one day of police custody after the First Information Report (FIR) was registered against him based on a Twitter posting, which another Twitter handle alleged that it "hurt Hindu sentiments."

Zubair was booked by the Delhi Police under sections 153A (promotion of enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language) 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 (IPC), Delhi Police said.

Earlier on Monday (July 11), Zubair had moved a bail petition in Sessions Court seeking bail in the Delhi FIR registered against him in a case pertaining to an alleged objectionable tweet.

(with agency inputs)