Delhi court grants AltNews cofounder Mohammed Zubair bail
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New Delhi: AltNews cofounder Mohammed Zubair secured bail from a Delhi court on Friday in a case of an objectionable tweet he posted on Twitter in 2018 against a Hindu deity. The court observed that there is no need for further custodial interrogation of Zubair, PTI reported.
However, he won't be released from jail on the basis of the bail granted now since there are more cases charged against him by the Uttar Pradesh police in Sitapur, Lakhimpur Kheri, Hathras, Gaziabad and Muzaffarnagar.
Zubair was granted bail by Additional Sessions Judge Devender Kumar Jangala on a bail bond of Rs 50,000 and a surety of the same amount. The court ordered him not to leave the country without permission. It directed Zubair to surrender his passport to the investigation agency within two days of release from jail.
Further, the court mandated him not to repeat the offence and he should ensure that his tweet or retweet, or any material on social media content does not even touch the boundaries of the offence punishable under Section 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony) and 295A (Deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) of IPC.
The judge said, "Considering the facts and circumstances of the case and the fact that the accused is not required for any custodial interrogation, I am inclined to allow the present bail moved on behalf of application applicant/accused Mohammed Zubair. The applicant is admitted to bail."
The court also said, that the accused "shall not tamper with evidence nor otherwise indulge in any act or omission that is unlawful or that would prejudice the proceedings in the pending matter."
"The applicant/accused will join the investigation as and when called by the SHO (station house officer)/ IO (investigating officer) to do so," the judge said.
A magisterial court had on July 2 dismissed his bail plea and sent him to 14-day judicial custody (JC) in the case, citing the nature and gravity of the offences against the accused and observing that the matter was at the initial stage of the investigation.