Alt News co-founder Mohammad Zubair gets interim bail, but will remain in jail

New Delhi, July 08: The Supreme Court has granted interim relief to Mohammad Zubair in an FIR lodged at Sitapur by the Uttar Pradesh police for hurting religious sentiments.

A vacation bench of Justices Indira Banerjee and JK Maheshwari however ordered him not to leave the jurisdiction of the Sitapur magistrate's court and not post any fresh tweets on the issue related to the case.

When Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the court that the grant of interim bail would not lead to his release as he is in judicial custody owing to a Delhi court order, the SC said that this relief is applicable only to the Sitapur case and not any other pending case against Zubair.

On Thursday the Supreme Court agreed to hear the bail plea filed by Alt News co-founder, Zubair. He had moved the court for quashing the FIR and bail in connection with a case registered against him in the Sitapur district of Uttar Pradesh.

During the hearing, senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, appearing for Zubair, said his anticipatory bail was rejected by the Allahabad High Court and subsequently he was arrested.

Zubair is guilty of purposefully suppressing the information about his bail being rejected on Thursday and the UP Police being handed over his custody in connection with the FIR related to his tweet calling Hindu priests hate mongers, Mehta told the court.

Zubair only said till hate mongers like this are there, who else do we need. All the others are released on bail but I, a secular tweeter, was arrested. When I call them hatemongers I am not wrong, Gonsalves said in his submissions.

We seek quashing of proceedings and questions of police or judicial custody are irrelevant now. There is no case Madde out and the proceedings need to be quashed Zubair's counsel also submitted.

An FIR was lodged against Zubair in Uttar Pradesh under IPC section 295A (deliberate and malicious act intended to outrage religious feelings) and section 67 of the IT Act here on a complaint by Hindu Sher Sena Sitapur district president Bhagwan Sharan on June 1. Zubair was arrested by the Delhi Police on June 27 for allegedly hurting religious sentiments through one of his tweets, news agency PTI reported.