New Delhi: The Allahabad high court on Friday, December 20, stayed the arrest of Mohammed Zubair, co-founder of fact-checking platform Alt News, until January 6. Zubair is under investigation following an FIR lodged against him for his posts on X, regarding alleged inflammatory remarks made by Yati Narsinghanand, the priest of Dasna Devi Temple.
The court, comprising Justice Siddhartha Varma and Justice Nalin Kumar Srivastava, observed that Zubair is “not a dreaded criminal” and granted interim relief while directing him not to leave the country and to cooperate with the ongoing investigation. The bench deferred the matter to January 6, when it will hear further arguments after the Uttar Pradesh (UP) government files its detailed response, according to a Live Law report.
UP government’s submissions
During the hearing, the UP government argued that Zubair’s posts, which included videos of Narsinghanand’s alleged inflammatory speech, presented “half-baked information” and threatened India’s sovereignty and integrity. Additional advocate general Manish Goyal contended that Zubair’s posts were intended to provoke violence and promote separatist sentiments.
The FIR against Zubair, lodged by Udita Tyagi, general secretary of the Yati Narsinghanand Saraswati Trust, accuses him of inciting violence through his social media posts. Zubair faces charges under various sections, including Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
The controversy stems from a series of posts by Zubair on October 3, where he shared videos of Narsinghanand making alleged inflammatory remarks about Prophet Muhammad. Zubair tagged the UP Police, questioning the lack of action against Narsinghanand. The complainant alleged that these posts were intended to incite violence and contributed to protests against Narsinghanand at Dasna Devi Mandi.
Zubair’s defence
Challenging the FIR, Zubair’s legal team argued that his posts were an exercise of his constitutional right to freedom of speech and that he was merely bringing attention to Narsinghanand’s conduct. His counsel emphasised that Zubair’s content was consistent with coverage by various news outlets and social media platforms and claimed the FIR was a publicity stunt by the complainant.
The defence further argued that there were no prohibitory orders against posting about the speech at the time and dismissed allegations of provocation as baseless.
Also read: International Human Rights Bodies Condemn Criminal Case Against Alt News Co-founder Mohammed Zubair
The state government has been directed to file a detailed counter-affidavit by January 6, the next hearing date following the court’s winter recess.
