AltNews co-founder Mohammed Zubair gets bail in tweet case

A Delhi court has granted  bail to Mohammed Zubair, co-founder of AltNews, arrested for allegedly hurting religious sentiments and promoting enmity through his tweet made in 2018.

Mohammed Zubair was granted bail in the case filed by the Delhi Police last month in connection with a 2018 tweet. He will be imprisoned for two cases filed in Uttar Pradesh.

“The voice of dissent is necessary for healthy democracy. Therefore, merely for the criticism of any political parties it is not justified to invoke section 153A and 295A IPC,” the court observed.

"Hindu religion is one of the oldest religions and most tolerant. The followers of the Hindu religion are also tolerant. Hindu religion is so tolerant that its followers proudly name their institution/organisation/facilities in the name of their Holy God or Goddess. A large number of Hindus proudly name their children in the name of their Holy God and Goddess," the court observed.

The co-founder of the fact-checking website Alt News has asked the Supreme Court to dismiss six cases filed by the Uttar Pradesh Police against him.

He has also requested that the Special Investigation Team formed to look into the cases be disbanded. The Delhi Police arrested Mohammed Zubair on June 27 for a four-year-old tweet in which he shared a screenshot from a popular Hindi film.

He was charged and arrested just days after he tweeted a video of suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma making provocative remarks about Prophet Mohammed during a TV debate.