Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair's interim bail extended by SC in UP case

New Delhi, July 12: The Supreme Court on Tuesday extended till further orders the interim bail of Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair in a case lodged against him in Sitapur district of Uttar Pradesh for allegedly outraging religious sentiments.

A bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and AS Bopanna was told by Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, appearing for the State government, that they wants to file a counter affidavit to Zubair's plea seeking quashing of the FIR lodged in the case.

The bench then listed the plea for final hearing on September 7 and asked the Uttar Pradesh government to file its response in four weeks.

The UP Police have been given four weeks to file their reply to Zubair's plea seeking quashing of the FIR registered against him on 1 June over his tweet calling Yati Narsinghanand, Bajrang Muni, and Anand Swaroop "hatemongers."

On July 8, a vacation bench of the top court had granted five-day interim bail to Zubair in the case.

The FIR was lodged against Zubair 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.

Mohammed Zubair, a fact-checker, was arrested by the Delhi Police last week in a case related to an "objectionable tweet" he had posted in 2018 against a Hindu deity.

The Delhi Police has invoked new provisions -- sections 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 201 (destruction of evidence) of the Indian Penal Code(IPC) and section 35 of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act against Zubair.