The Allahabad High Court on Monday dismissed a writ petition filed by Alt News co-founder Mohammad Zubair challenging the FIR filed against him on June 1 for using derogatory language against Mahant Bajrang Muni Udasin, Rashtriya Sanrakshak of Rashtriya Hindu Sher Sena along with Yati Narsinghanand and Swami Anand Swaroop.
Zubair was booked under sections 295(A) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 67 of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
Allahabad High Court refuses to quash FIR against Mohd Zubair, co-founder of Alt News, over his tweets calling Yati Narsinghanand, Bajrang Muni and Anand Swaroop as ‘Hate mongers’. Zubair has been booked u/S 295-A IPC.#allahabadhighcourt #HateCrime pic.twitter.com/B8CvhTXFjg
— LawBeat (@LawBeatInd) June 13, 2022
While refusing to quash the FIR filed against him, the Allahabad HC Bench of Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Ajai Kumar Srivastava opined that the writ petition filed by Mohammad Zubair “lacks merit”. It also said that the prima facie records suggest that there is enough ground for investigation in the case. Hence the court dismissed Zubair’s writ petition.
It may be noted that seeking the quashing of the FIR, Zubair’s lawyer had argued in court that the Alt News’ co-founder, through his tweet, had not insulted or attempted to insult a religious belief of a class by his tweet and the impugned FIR has been lodged against him just for harassment with oblique motive, hence the FIR is liable to be quashed.
Meanwhile, opposing Zubair’s plea, the Advocate General of Allahabad submitted that the petitioner is a habitual offender and earlier also he has been involved in making offensive tweets for which four cases have been registered against him.
After hearing both sides, the court rejected Mohammad Zubair’s petition, stating that the case is still in its early stages and that the investigation has not yet begun, aside from some preliminary efforts made on the date of the case’s registration. It further stated that a review of the case record reveals a prima facie case at this time and that there appears to be sufficient ground for further inquiry in the matter.
FIR registered against Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair
On June 1, Khairabad Police of Sitapur district in Uttar Pradesh filed a First Investigation Report (FIR) against Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair for using derogatory language against Mahant Bajrang Muni Udasin, Rashtriya Sanrakshak of Rashtriya Hindu Sher Sena along with Yati Narsinghanand and Swami Anand Swaroop. The FIR was registered based on the complaint of Bhagwan Sharan, district head of Rashtriya Hindu Sher Sena, under sections 295(A) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 67 of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
Zubair’s derogatory tweet against Mahant Bajrang Muni Udasin
On May 27, while targeting Times Now editor Navika Kumar, Zubair said in a tweet, “Why do we need Hate Mongers like Yati Narasinghanand Saraswati or Mahant Bajrang Muni or Anand Swaroop to arrange a Dharam Sansad to speak against a community and a Religion when we already have Anchors who can do a much better job from News Studios.”
Zubair was accusing Navika Kumar of encouraging “a rabid communal hatemonger & a BJP Spokesperson” Nupur Sharma during a debate. It is notable that after Zubair pointed out the comments by Nupur Sharma on Prophet Mohammad during the same debate accusing her of insulting the prophet and Islam, she has been receiving repeated death threats and rape threats. Even bounties also have been announced on her head by Islamist organisations. The vile campaign against Nupur Sharma reached rock bottom on June 10, when Islamists carried out violent protests accompanied by arson and stone-pelting in several parts of the country wishing for the ex-BJP spokesperson’s arrest and also death.
Speaking to OpIndia, Mahant Bajrang Muni Udasin demanded strict action against Mohammad Zubair. “He uses his verified Twitter account to target Hinduwadis who talk about their religion. He incites to file FIR against Hinduwadis. Once FIR is registered, he demands their arrest.” Demanding Zubair’s arrest, Mahant said, “I request CM Yogi Adityananth and administration to arrest him and take strict action as per law.”
