The Allahabad High Court has prolonged the stay on the arrest of Mohammed Zubair, co-founder of Alt News, until February 10, 2025, in connection with a First Information Report (FIR) filed against him over an 'X' (formerly Twitter) post concerning Yati Narsinghanand. The bench, comprising Justice Siddhartha Varma and Justice Yogendra Kumar Srivastava, granted this extension. The specific reasons for the adjournment are pending clarification upon the release of the court's detailed order.
Previously, on January 16, the State Government requested additional time to verify the claims and documents submitted in a rejoinder by Zubair's legal counsel. This development follows an earlier decision on December 20, 2024, where the High Court, noting that Zubair is "not a dreaded criminal," had stayed his arrest until January 6, 2025.
The FIR against Zubair was lodged by the Ghaziabad Police in October 2024, following a complaint by Dr. Udita Tyagi, General Secretary of the Yati Narsinghanand Saraswati Trust. The complaint alleges that Zubair shared outdated and edited clips of Narsinghanand's speeches on 'X', which contained purportedly incendiary remarks about Prophet Muhammad, with the intent to incite radical sentiments against the priest.
On October 3, 2024, Zubair had posted a series of videos on 'X'. One of these videos featured Yati Narsinghanand, the priest of Dasna Devi Temple, making controversial statements about Prophet Muhammad. In his post, Zubair tagged the Uttar Pradesh Police, inquiring about the actions taken against Narsinghanand and described the speech as "derogatory."
In response to the FIR, Zubair approached the High Court, challenging the allegations. He contended that his 'X' post did not advocate violence against Narsinghanand but merely alerted the authorities to the priest's actions, seeking legal recourse. Zubair argued that this could not be construed as promoting disharmony or ill-will between different groups. He emphasized that he was exercising his freedom of speech by referencing the controversial speech of Narsinghanand and highlighting his conduct. Zubair also pointed out that several news articles and social media accounts had reported on the same issue, and his post did not differ from these reports.
The legal proceedings have seen multiple extensions of the stay on Zubair's arrest. On January 6, 2025, the High Court extended the stay until January 16, 2025, granting Zubair ten additional days to file a rejoinder to the State Government's counter-affidavit. During this hearing, the bench observed that while an offense under Section 196 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) appeared to be made out from the reading of the FIR, it remained to be seen whether Section 152 BNS was applicable. Section 196 pertains to promoting enmity between different groups on religious grounds, while Section 152 deals with acts that could excite people to commit offenses related to secession, armed rebellion, or subversive activities.
The State Government has maintained that Zubair's selective posts heightened religious tensions, leading to unrest at the Dasna Devi Temple on October 4, 2024, where a crowd gathered, and the priest narrowly escaped an attack. The government contends that Zubair's posts contained half-baked information that damaged and threatened India's sovereignty and integrity.
As the case progresses, the High Court's decision to extend the stay on Zubair's arrest until February 10, 2025, provides him with temporary relief. The court is expected to further examine the merits of the allegations and the applicability of the cited legal provisions in the upcoming hearings.
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