Delhi HC orders man to apologise to Zubair for calling him 'Jihadi'

The Delhi High Court has ordered a man named Jagdish Singh to issue a public apology to Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair for referring to him as a "jihadi" on social media. The court directed Singh to post the apology on his X (formerly Twitter) handle and to keep it visible for a minimum of two months.

The case stems from an incident in 2020 when Zubair responded to a derogatory message from Singh by referencing Singh's granddaughter, whose image was part of Singh's display picture. Zubair had blurred the girl's face in the post, but Singh accused him of harassing his granddaughter and made the offensive comment in response.

Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani, who presided over the case, ordered Singh to apologise publicly, specifying the exact wording to be used. The apology must express regret for the comment and clarify that it was not made with any intent to harm or offend Zubair. The court also examined other posts made by Singh, raising concerns about his behaviour on social media.

In addition to the apology, the court imposed restrictions on Zubair, instructing him not to retweet Singh’s apology or use it in any civil or criminal proceedings against Singh. Following the court's ruling, Zubair made a cryptic post on X, which featured a series of emojis.