Bengaluru: In a relief for Twitter MD Manish Maheshwari, the Karnataka High Court Friday quashed a notice issued by the Uttar Pradesh Police under Section 41A of the CrPC asking him to be present at the Loni police station in Ghaziabad.
Quashing the UP Police notice against Maheshwari, the Court allowed the police to record his statement or seek information from him under Section 160 of CrPC through virtual mode or by visiting his office or home address.
Justice Narendra added that the petitioner, Manish Maheshwari, should cooperate with the police investigation.
"I have held the notice issued under Section 41A of CrPC as malafide as it does not meet with the pre-conditions," Justice Narendar said.
On June 15, the Ghaziabad Police booked Twitter Inc, Twitter Communications India Pvt. Ltd. (Twitter India), along with some news websites and journalists for circulating a video in which an elderly man, Abdul Shamad Saifi, alleges that he was thrashed on June 5 by some young men. He was also reportedly asked to chant 'Jai Shri Ram.' According to police, the video was not true and was shared to cause communal unrest.
On June 21, the UP police issued a notice under Section 41A of the CrPC to Maheshwari. Through the notice, he was asked to report at Loni Border police station at 10:30 am on June 24.
Following this, Manish Maheshwari moved the Karnataka High Court stating that Twitter had not circulated the video and that he is not in a position to travel to UP.
On June 24, in an interim order the high court restrained the UP Police from initiating any coercive action against him.
