It’s like telling a lawyer that you should not argue. How can we tell a journalist to not write, asked Supreme Court Justice D Y Chandrachud, rejecting Uttar Pradesh government’s Additional Advocate General (AAG) Garima Prasad’s request to put the condition that he shouldn’t tweet while granting fact-checking website Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair relief.
“He’s not a journalist," Prasad responded to the court’s observation. The court again said, “We can’t say that he won’t tweet again."
Granting interim bail to Zubair in all six cases against him and ordering his release, the Supreme Court on Wednesday rapped the Uttar Pradesh government, saying the “power of arrest must be pursued sparingly".
The bench, headed by Justice D Y Chandrachud and also comprising Justices Surya Kant and A S Bopana, said, “The power of arrest must be used sparingly…in the present case, there is no justification to keep him in continued custody any further and subject him to diverse proceedings when the gravamen of allegations arises from the tweets which form part of investigation by Delhi Police."
SC DISBANDS UP SIT
Ordering clubbing of the first information reports (FIR) registered against Zubair in Uttar Pradesh and transferring the probe in the matter to the Delhi Police’s Special Cell, the bench also disbanded the Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed by the Uttar Pradesh government.
“We are of the view that…all the FIRs registered against the petitioners, including the six FIRs noted above, should be transferred for investigation by Delhi Police…as a consequence, the SIT by Uttar Pradesh Police shall be redundant and be disbanded," the bench observed.
Advocate Vrinda Grover represented Zubair along with advocate Soutik Banerjee.
Rs 2 CRORE FOR TWEETS?
The Uttar Pradesh government told the top court that Zubair has “admittedly received Rs 2 crore in funds for these venomous tweets". Zubair has been taking advantage of speeches, debates etc in order to create a communal divide.
“He isn’t a journalist, he’s a fact-checker, he tweets venom. He is being paid for tweets and he has admitted it," Prasad said. “He’s said that every time he maliciously tweets, he receives more. He has admitted that Rs 12 lakh is his monthly quota."
Grover argued that not a single tweet has improper language, ill-will or promotes enmity.
“Someone who is debunking false information and debunking it cannot be persecuted by State and police. Please protect me from these excesses," Grover said.
Following the arguments, the SC directed the jail authorities to ensure that Zubair is released before 6 pm on Wednesday, subject to furnishing bail bonds. The apex court said there was no justified reason to keep him in custody when the subject matter is his tweets.
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