Delhi High Court Seeks Further Status Report On FIR Against Alt News Co-Founder Mohammed Zubair, Interim Protection To Continue

The Delhi High Court on Thursday sought further status report from the Delhi Police with respect to investigation carried out in the FIR registered against Co-Founder of Alt News, Mohammed Zubair over a tweet made by him in response to a twitter user in August 2020.

Justice Mukta Gupta, who was hearing Zubair's plea seeking quashing of the said FIR, added that the interim protection from arrest granted to him in September 2020 will continue. The matter will now be heard on May 17.

Zubair was granted interim protection from arrest vide order dated September 9, 2020 by a single judge bench of Justice Yogesh Khanna which had also directed the Delhi Government and the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Cyber Cell to file a status report on the investigation carried out in this case.

It had also directed Twitter India to expedite the request filed by the Cyber Cell of Delhi Police.

Delhi HC Grants Interim Protection From Arrest To Alt News Co-Founder Mohammed Zubair In Plea Seeking Quashing Of FIR

The criminal writ petition was moved by fact-checking journalist Mohammed Zubair seeking to quash the FIR lodged against him by a twitter user, Jagdish Singh.

The case pertains to a tweet posted by Zubair, sharing the profile picture of Singh which had him standing with his minor granddaughter, and asking -after blurring the face of the minor girl - if it was appropriate for Singh to use derogatory language in replies while using a profile picture figuring his granddaughter.  

In light of this tweet, Jagdish Singh filed multiple FIRs against Zubair, accusing him of causing cyber sexual harassment of his grand-daughter. In the FIR lodged in Delhi, offences under section 509B of IPC, Sections 67 and 67A of the Information Technology Act are invoked against Zubair.

Zubair is also aggrieved by the fact that the copies of the said FIRs have not been provided to him. In addition to this, he is also assailing the decision of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) of summoning Twitter India for taking action against Zubair on the basis of a frivolous complaint filed by Jadgish Singh.

Case Title: MOHAMMED ZUBAIR v. STATE OF GNCT & ORS.