The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted bail to AltNews co-founder Mohammed Zubair on a bond of Rs. 20,000 each in all the FIRs filed against him by UP Police. The top court directed Tihar Jail to ensure that Zubair is released by 6 pm today once the bail bonds have been filed.
In a series of directions, the top court transferred all FIRs and their probe to the Delhi Police Special Cell.
The UP police SIT is rendered redundant and disbanded, the bench led by Justice DY Chandrachud said. The direction to transfer all UP FIRs to Delhi Police Special Cell shall apply to future FIRs which may be registered in the future on the basis of tweets. Protection of arrest will also apply in such cases, the bench said.
The top court further said that all appeals arising out of the transferred FIRs will now be heard by Delhi High Court. The bail bonds will also be furnished before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, at Patiala House District Court, in New Delhi.
The bench however denied UP government's request to bar Zubair from tweeting. "This is like asking a lawyer not to argue. How can we tell a journalist not to write," Justice Chandrachud observed.
The Supreme Court orders came on Zubair's plea seeking to quash the UP Police FIRs filed against him, or in the alternative clubbing all FIRs.
During the hearing, UP government told the Supreme Court that AltNews co-founder Mohammed Zubair is not a journalist, rather he calls himself a fact checker. But, Instead of fact-checking, he posts tweets that go viral; spread venom. He gets paid to tweet, the more malicious the more he earns.
Senior advocate Vrinda Grover, representing Zubair, argued that the law machinery was being misused against the fact checker in an attempt to silence him.
Also Read: Vicious Cycle Of Police Custody: Supreme Court on Mohammed Zubair Cases
Also Read: Voices of Dissent Necessary For A Healthy Democracy: Delhi Court