In a big relief, the Supreme Court on Tuesday granted bail to Alt News co-founder and fact-checker Mohammed Zubair in all FIRs lodged against him in Uttar Pradesh. "No justification to keep him in continued custody and subject him to endless rounds of custody," the top court said.
Zubair was arrested on June 27 by Delhi police on the charges of promoting enmity between groups and hurting religious sentiments over a 2018 tweet that purportedly insulted Lord Hanuman. He secured regular bail on July 15.Uttar Pradesh police have registered six FIRs against him in five places — Hathras (two FIRs), Sitapur, Lakhimpur Kheri, Muzaffarnagar and Ghaziabad — on similar charges over a recent tweet accusing some Hindu religious leaders of hate mongering.Zubair’s counsel Vrinda Grover had earlier told the court that some people were offering rewards ranging from Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 for every FIR or police complaint registered against Zubair in Uttar Pradesh.