Supreme Court grants bail to Zubair in all six FIRs in Uttar Pradesh, orders immediate release | India News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted interim bail to Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair in all six FIRs registered against him in Uttar Pradesh, and also ordered his immediate release. The Supreme Court bench headed by Justice DY Chandrachud said there was absolutely no justification in keeping Zubair in custody when the Delhi court has granted him bail in a FIR registered by its special cell. The special cell is currently probing a whole gamut of tweets and funding related to the case. The court said Zubair will be released on an interim bail by presenting a bail bond of Rs 20,000 before the magistrate court at Patiala house. The bench also added that it would be fair that all the FIRs are clubbed together and investigated by one authority. The court further said that overlapping of FIRs, emanating from the tweets, require consolidation of FIRs rather than piecemeal investigation by diverse police authorities. Zubair had earlier petitioned the court to club the multiple FIRs registered against him with the one filed by the Delhi Police cell. The court also transferred all FIRs registered against him across the country as well as in Uttar Pradesh to the Delhi police. It also disbanded the Special Investigation Team set up by Uttar Pradesh government to probe the derogatory tweets. The top court said the Delhi Police will conduct a comprehensive probe in the matter, adding that Zubair can move Delhi HC for quashing of all or any of the FIRs. Interestingly, the SC said this relief would be applicable to all FIRs that would be registered in future on the same subject matter in regard to the tweets put out by him. This means, all future FIRs anywhere in the country would be automatically transferred to Delhi Police. The court in its judgment added that the existence of power of arrest must be distinguished from power of arrest, which should be pursued sparingly. Meanwhile, the counsel of the Uttar Pradesh government said that Zubair should be restrained from posting offensive tweets. The SC said this is like asking a lawyer not to argue. “How can the court restrain a journalist from tweeting? If he violates law by tweeting something, then he will be answerable,” the SC added. The Uttar Pradesh government had also alleged in court that Zubair was made graded payments for his tweets to inflame communal passion – more vicious the tweet the higher were the payments. Additional advocate general Garima Prasad told the top court that he has also admitted to receiving Rs 2 crore through tweets. Prasad further gave details of how he allegedly circulated old videos with his own inciting comments which led to communal tension and violence. Prasad said that each of his tweets are meant to inflame communal violence, which actually took place, in certain localities of Uttar Pradesh by using videos of crimes and adding comments to incite communal elements to indulge in violence. Zubair’s counsel Vrinda Grover had told the court that he is a journalist and a fact checker and is put in jail because he identifies fake and hate posts.