K'taka HC grants interim relief to Twitter MD in Loni assault case: What we know so far

Bengaluru, June 24: The Karnataka High Court on Thursday gave interim relief to Twitter India head Manish Maheshwari in connection with the Loni assault case.

The Karnataka HC also directed that "no coercive action" could be taken against Twitter India's Managing Director, who on Wednesday moved the court to challenge the summons from the Ghaziabad Police.

Here's what has happened in the case so far:

• On June 7, the elderly Muslim man lodged an FIR against unidentified persons. He was accompanied by local Samajwadi Party leader Ummed Pahalwan Idrisi. Later, the victim took part in a Facebook Live during which he alleged he was not only thrashed by the assailants but also forced to chant 'Jai Shri Ram'.
• Over a week after the reporting of the incident (June 15, Tuesday), the Ghaziabad Police had booked Twitter Inc, Twitter Communications India, news website The Wire, journalists Mohammed Zubair and Rana Ayyub, besides Congress leaders Salman Nizami, Maskoor Usmani, Shama Mohamed and journalist-writer Saba Naqvi in connection with the matter.
• A day after the Ghaziabad police booked Twitter, a news website, some journalists and Opposition Congress politicians in a separate FIR.
• Twitter India MD Manish Maheshwari, who lives in Bengaluru in Karnataka, was issued notice by the Ghaziabad police and asked to report at its Loni Border police station within seven days to get his statement recorded in the case, officials said.
• On the same day, a police complaint was lodged against actor Swara Bhaskar, Arfa Khanum Sherwani, Asif Khan of Twitter India and Manish Maheshwari over the same issue. However, a fresh FIR was not filed at the time.
• Twitter India Managing Director Manish Maheshwari was expected to appear in person before the Uttar Pradesh Police on Thursday in connection with a probe related to the Ghaziabad assault video, officials said.
• The Ghaziabad Police had on June 15 booked Twitter Inc, Twitter Communications India, news website The Wire, journalists Mohammed Zubair and Rana Ayyub, besides Congress leaders Salman Nizami, Maskoor Usmani, Shama Mohamed and writer Saba Naqvi.
• They were booked over the circulation of a video in which the elderly man, Abdul Shamad Saifi, claims he was allegedly thrashed by some young men who also asked him to chant 'Jai Shri Ram' on June 5. The police claim the video was shared to cause communal unrest.