Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair granted bail in 2018 tweet case

Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair was granted bail by a Delhi court on Friday in a case related to a 2018 tweet he posted. He will remain in custody pending relief in other cases. 

Zubair was arrested by the Delhi Police on June 27 for allegedly hurting religious sentiments through a tweet. He was initially sent to one-day police custody by the trial court. He was charged with sections 153 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot) and 295A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). 

The Delhi Police also later invoked other sections of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA). 

Zubair moved a sessions court in Delhi for bail in the 2018 tweet case but an Uttar Pradesh court remanded him to judicial custody for 14 days. There are seven FIRs against him, out of which six are in UP and one is in Delhi.

The Alt News co-founder was put in custody in four cases, out of which he has secured interim bail in two. 

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has sought to quash all the six cases registered against him by the UP Police. 

Also read: Alt News founder Zubair remanded to 14-day judicial custody in Hathras case