Zubair was arrested by the Delhi Police on Monday in a case of promoting enmity among religious groups registered based on a tweet put out by him in 2018.
He had been remanded to one-day police custody by the duty magistrate.
He was then produced before Judge Sarvaria for further custody on Tuesday.
He has been booked for offences under Sections 153A (promoting enmity between religious groups) and 295 (injuring or defiling place of worship, with intent to insult the religion of any class) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
“Such tweets were getting retweeted and it appeared that there is a brigade of social media entities, who indulge in insult mongering thereby leading to a possible ramification on communal harmony and is overall against the maintenance of public tranquility,” a statement by Delhi Police said in connection with the tweet in question.
Advocate Vrinda Grover had pointed out that many people had tweeted that image, but her client was being harassed for the work he does as a fact-checker.
“My client is being targeted for his work. He may be challenging people who are powerful but that can’t be a reason for his harassment,” she said.
She also submitted that the police was asking for Zubair’s laptop.
“They are seeking my laptop because I have been challenging many things. Laptop has nothing to do (with the case). It is a store house of my personal information. They want my laptop because I’m a journalist. Journalists have sensitive info,” Grover said.
Regarding the offences slapped against Zubair, Grover said,
“The penalty under 153A is max 3 years. The penalty under 295 is up to 2 years. This is a tweet of 2018. Their own cause of action is March 2018. If an anonymous Twitter handle chose to create mischief in the country those reasons should be investigated.”
The acts alleged don’t come under the purview of 153A, she added.
“Let us take the tweet of Hanuman Bhakt on face value. It is not a case of 153A. In any case, he is not the spokesperson of everyone…Who does it incite? What are the groups? What is the insult? Many tweeted and still no flutter. Honeymooners and brahmacharis are not two groups creating unrest in the country,” Grover said.
Source: Barandbench
