Thread by @barandbench

#SupremeCourt to shortly hear plea by Mohammed Zubair, the co-founder of fact-checking website @AltNews, seeking bail in a case in which he was arrested by the Uttar Pradesh police (#Sitapur) for referring to some Hindu religious leaders as “hate mongers” @Uppolice @zoo_bear

Read about the grounds raised by Zubair in his appeal before the #SupremeCourt @AltNews @zoo_bear

barandbench.com/news/litigatio…

The vacation bench of Justices Indira Banerjee and JK Maheshwari to assemble post 10.30 am

Track this thread for all updates

#ZubairArrest @zoo_bear @AltNews #SupremeCourt

Hearing to begin now

#ZubairArrest @zoo_bear @AltNews #SupremeCourt

SG Tushar Mehta appearing virtually: Before the other party begins, I have a preliminary things to say. Yersteray this case was mentioned saying there was threat to life

#ZubairArrest @zoo_bear @AltNews #SupremeCourt

SG: FIR was on June 1, quashing plea was rejected on June 10 and yesterday Sitapur court granted 14 days custody. This was not revealed yesterday and affidavit was filed yesterday. This is clear purposeful suppression.

#ZubairArrest @zoo_bear @AltNews #SupremeCourt

SG: Such a conduct should not be encouraged

Justice Banerjee: Oh he is already arrested. You have to file an affidavit

SG: Nothing was mentioned yesterday and it would be like setting aside a speaking order

#ZubairArrest @zoo_bear @AltNews #SupremeCourt

Sr Adv Colin Gonsalves: This is their in our application. Please see paragraph 4. Paragraph 3 speaks of judicial custody.

SG: Mr Gonsalves.. this is..

Gonsalves: There is a limit to this please wait

#ZubairArrest @zoo_bear @AltNews #SupremeCourt

Gonsalves: We had written that Sitapur police seeks police custody

SG: Please show where you have mentioned bail was rejected ? He is seeking bail here without telling bail was rejected by a speaking order

Gonsalves: I have challenged the Allahabad HC order

#ZubairArrest

Gonsalves: No criminal case can be made out against him. The fountain of this case is a tweet. I seek a quashing of proceedings. Questions of police or judicial custody are irrelevant now.

Justice Banerjee: against rejection of bail there is a different remedy.

Gonsalves: There is no case made out and the proceedings need to be quashed. I had admitted this is my tweet. Is this a criminal offence. Please see the tweet

#ZubairArrest @zoo_bear @AltNews #SupremeCourt

Gonsalves: They say it was about insulting religion. Order says there is a prima facie case. I have admitted to this tweet. There is no investigation needed in this. Please see page 28 of our petition.

#ZubairArrest @zoo_bear @AltNews #SupremeCourt

Gonsalves: I was only speaking of hate speech in respect of which the persons had been arrested for the most horrific hate speech and released again. I am not against release again.

#ZubairArrest @zoo_bear @AltNews #SupremeCourt

Gonsalves: We only say till hate mongers like this are there now then who else do we need. All the others released on bail but I, a secular tweeter, was arrested. When I say hate monger I am not wrong police has prosecuted them under 295A IPC

SC: you have to make an appropriate plea.

SG: There was rejection of bail..

Gonsalves: what investigation are you doing to move me around, custody, seize my phone. I have admitted to my tweet already

#ZubairArrest @zoo_bear @AltNews #SupremeCourt

Gonsalves: Please see the part on the hate mongers. The people have been released on bail. Just see Milord what this country has come to. The person who exposes it is in jail and the person continuing is on bail.

#ZubairArrest @zoo_bear @AltNews #SupremeCourt

Gonsalves: These hate mongers made remarks on constitution, judges and what not. This is what I did. I exposed this kind of venomous language against judges, constitution etc. I am in jail for this !

#ZubairArrest @zoo_bear @AltNews #SupremeCourt

Gonsalves: Please see what AG KK Venugopal said on this video on a request to initiate contempt plea. He said that those who believe in the institution will die a death by seeing all this. Zubair exposed it and he is now in jail. I admit it to what I said.

#ZubairArrest

Gonsalves: Please see Section 295A IPC. How is it applicable to me? I was in fact defending this. Now please see Section 67 of IT Act. Even that is not applicable..it's against obscene material

#ZubairArrest @zoo_bear @AltNews #SupremeCourt

Gonsalves: Please see the clamour in country. Take this phone that phone. This is the co-director of Alt News, one of the prestigious agency tracking hate speech and sending people to jail.

#ZubairArrest @zoo_bear @AltNews #SupremeCourt

Gonsalves: My life is in danger. That is why I moved to court. There are many who are advising police to torture me or have me killed!

#ZubairArrest @zoo_bear @AltNews #SupremeCourt

Gonsalves: this man is in jail and he should be released immediately and should be sent home. Please see the parts where they have put a picture of him and say "Goli Maarne Wale ko Ek Laakh ka Inaam" !

#ZubairArrest @zoo_bear @AltNews #SupremeCourt

Judges are discussing

#ZubairArrest @zoo_bear @AltNews #SupremeCourt

Gonsalves: Please see the Allahabad HC order. This is the last thing we will refer to.

#ZubairArrest @zoo_bear @AltNews #SupremeCourt

Gonsalves: HC order finding says that the matter was at premature stage and evidence had to be gathered and then court on basis of this can decide one way or other. But here I had admitted to the FIR
This is a point missed by HC.
#ZubairArrest @zoo_bear @AltNews #SupremeCourt

Gonsalves: Court says there is prima facie case for offences. How is this an offence under Section 67 of IT Act or 295A of IPC. Where is the offence ? If there is no offence then why he is in custody. That's what Bhajan Lal judgment is all about. Where is obscenity or religion?

Justice Banerjee: The screenshots you showed us. Is there anything other than these tweets ?

SG Tushar Metha: Yes, I will show you milords

#ZubairArrest @zoo_bear @AltNews #SupremeCourt

SG: I appear for state of UP and ASG SV Raju for the IO. This is not a question of one tweet or other. It is to see whether he is part of syndicate to put out such tweets to destabilize the society. Let me point out facts which are suppressed by fact checker.

SG: He has been arrested by Delhi police and Delhi court refused bail as there is some money angle since money has been received from some foreign countries. This info was suppressed. HC did not grant any interim relief. He is in jail thus

SG: Section 67 of the IT Act has been dropped by the police officers in the Sitapur FIR. We argued before the UP Court and after this tweet there was a law and order situation. The person Yati Narsinghnanad was arrested and released. I am not defending him.

SG: UP court remanding him to custody has been suppressed.

Justice Banerjee: perhaps it is not bail rejection but only remand

SG: There are two orders. Delhi court refused bail and here in UP too bail was rejected and remand was granted.

#ZubairArrest @zoo_bear @AltNews

SG: SLP is not a regular appeal it is a discretion we invoke of this court. Thus such suppression is important. He is in police custody by an elaborate reasoned order.

#ZubairArrest @zoo_bear @AltNews #SupremeCourt

SG: All these suppressions and saying Section 67 is not made out. We have only charged Section 153A. Now he suppresses all of this and claims to be fact checker! There is something more than what meets the eye.

#ZubairArrest @zoo_bear @AltNews #SupremeCourt

SG: Speeches by Yati Narsinghnanad etc were hate speeches and they were arrested and they were in jail. I am not disputing consent by AG Venugopal. He was right in that.

#ZubairArrest @zoo_bear @AltNews #SupremeCourt

Gonsalves: for 153A i have to promote the enmity between religions. If i tell the police about such speeches then it is not promoting enemity but promoting secularism. Sorry solicitor This section does not apply to me.
#ZubairArrest @zoo_bear @AltNews #SupremeCourt

SG: His overall conduct is being criminally investigated. It is not just this one tweet. He is a habitual offender.

Gonsalves interrupts

SG: We are not in a TV debate. I don't go there

Justice Maheshwari: The Allahabad HC order is on which FIR? Which police registered it ?

ASG Raju: It was registered by the UP police. Local police station.

SC: SG please show us whether offence on 295A was made out or not ?

ASG Raju: I am for the investigating officer. 1. Please see Section 67 has been dropped. I will show how 295A has been made out. He has not written to police, he is tweeting it so that everyone sees it and then violence is incited.

ASG:Mahant Bajrang is a respected religious leader in Sitapur. once you call him a hate monger then it invites violence. There is no scope of intention here under Section 482 Petition. We have to look at his devices and that is why we are going to Bangalore and remand was granted

ASG: Please see Section 295.. yes outrage of religious feelings was there of this Bajrangi Baba. Whether intention there or not it is a scope of investigation. You call a spiritual leader a hate monger and you outrage religious feelings

ASG: There is an attempt to promote disharmony and Ill will among religious groups. If you are such a nice person then you should not have tweeted and sent a letter to UP police. That fact that he has tweeted has created the offence.

ASG: If he is granted bail and remand rejected then he can destroy evidence in Bangalore. Such quashing petitions are not listed in vacations

Justice Banerjee: He says there is deprivation of liberty. In such a case you cannot say that there is no urgency.

@zoo_bear @AltNews #SupremeCourt

SG: His conduct is deplorable. He has suppressed all facts and sudden urgency created by saying death threats etc.

SC: we have not gone by death threats. We have gone by deprivation of liberty and that has happened.

@AltNews
#ZubairArrest @zoo_bear

SG: Please see the application. Delhi court has given police custody remand, rejected bail, nothing has been mentioned. This affiavit was filed yersterday and he does not mention that he was taken on transit remand order from Delhi to UP

@AltNews
#ZubairArrest @zoo_bear

SG: He has not mentioned any of these facts. These are deliberate and wilful suppression. You cannot play with system like this. It is too early a stage for interference when HC says there is a prima facie case

@AltNews
#ZubairArrest @zoo_bear

ASG: There is a prima facie case on Section 295A and 153 of IPC. Police custody is on and bail plea is rejected. HC has also noted it's a premature stage. SC must hold that this is not a fit case for interference now

@AltNews
#ZubairArrest @zoo_bear

SG: any interference by this court will directly interdict orders by two competent courts

SC: As SG says do you have the order on bail plea?

Gonsalves: we have not received the bail copy.

SG: Then say that bail rejected and order not received

@AltNews
#ZubairArrest

Justice Maheshwari to court staff: Speaker bandh kardena (switch off our mic)

Judges discuss

@AltNews
#ZubairArrest @zoo_bear #SupremeCourt

Gonsalves: Nowadays everything is not about letters. The seers had commented on religious leaders saying Muslim women should be kidnapped and raped. Sitapur police replied even when it was 5 days had passed and said probe was on.

@AltNews
#ZubairArrest @zoo_bear

Gonsalves: Bajrang Munni Das had said that Muslim women should be raped if Hindu women are teased by Muslim men. NCW had taken cognisance as well

Justice Banerjee: This is Bajrang Munni, what about others ?

SG: Petitioner has deleted many tweets. This is the modus operandi

Gonsalves: I who ask police to take action is in jail. What shocking state of affairs.

SG: But you are already arrested .. this is not helping you

Gonsalves: I have called them hate mongers. Whole country and press also calls them hate mongers
What is wrong in this?

Justice Banerjee: Let the matter be posted before a regular bench. We will grant protection for few days on condition that you will not leave jurisdiction of this court and you will not put up more tweets. We will grant you interim bail for few days

ASG: let the effect of bail be after remand is over

SG: He is also in judicial custody by Delhi police. That order is not under challenge here

SC: We are only on this case

BREAKING:

SC: We issue notice.

SG: Let me present facts by Monday and defer interim relief on Monday.

SC: We are not interfering with any other order except what is before us. Matter be listed before appropriate regular bench.

SC: The order of the JMFC July 7, 2022, Sitapur be translated into English and filed in court along with order rejecting the prayer of bail. In the mean petitioner shall be granted interim order of bail for a period of 5 days on conditions to be imposed by JMFC
@zoo_bear @AltNews

SC: The conditions of Sitapur court to include condition that Petitioner shall not tweet and he will not leave the jurisdiction of court of the first judicial magistrate.

SG: Then he has to come to Delhi and surrender in Delhi.

Gonsalves: we will right away

SC: Then we will say not leave Delhi.

Ld SG submits that the petitioner is in judicial custody in Delhi. We order that the petitioner shall not leave the jurisdiction of Delhi. We are making it clear this interim bail in relation to the Sitapur FIR

SG: please say Delhi otherwise he will get bail in Delhi case

SC: this order is only on Sitapur FIR and not any other FIR

@zoo_bear @AltNews #SupremeCourt

Justice Banerjee: we are restricting jurisdiction to Delhi on your submission

SG: Yes he is in judicial custody in Delhi

@AltNews @zoo_bear #SupremeCourt

SC: Petitioner to not tamper any electronic evidence in Bangalore or anywhere else. SG submits that he is in judicial custody in Delhi with respect to another offence. This order is concerned only with Sitapur FIR
@zoo_bear @AltNews #SupremeCourt

ASG: Please say that the order will not hamper seizure of laptop etc?

SC: Did we stay the investigation? No. List this matter before a regular bench.

@AltNews @zoo_bear

Gonsalves: I am on bail from today ?

ASG: how can it be now.. sureties etc..

SG laughs: he is needed in Delhi
He cannot be on bail. He has to surrender

#SupremeCourt