Md Zubair Requests an Urgent SC Hearing to Get All FIRs Against Him in UP Dismissed
GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 18th July. Mohammad Zubair, co-founder of Alt News, requested an urgent hearing on Monday to have all six FIRs issued against him in Uttar Pradesh dismissed, as well as to challenge the constitution of the Special Investigation Team (SIT).
Advocate Vrinda Grover, representing Zubair, requested an immediate listing of the case before a bench led by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana. “He works as a journalist.”
A slew of FIRs was registered against him. As soon as he gets bail in one case, he is arrested in another. Requesting for a mention today itself,” Grover told the Supreme Court.
The Bench, which also included Justices Krishna Murari and Hima Kohli, instructed Grover to refer the matter to the Justice DY Chandrachud bench, which had previously issued the order in the Zubair case.
The Bench said, “No not today. You mention it before the same bench (Justice Chandrachud’s bench).”
Zubair has petitioned the Supreme Court to dismiss the FIRs filed in six Uttar Pradesh towns: Sitapur, Lakhimpur Kheri, Muzaffarnagar, Ghaziabad, and Hathras (two FIRs).
In his plea, Zubair stated that his personal liberty has been completely jeopardised due to the failure to follow the due procedure established by law, and he asked the court to either dismiss the six FIRs in UP or combine them all with the FIR in Delhi, where he was first arrested, to avoid multiple proceedings and prolonged detention.
The petition also questioned the Uttar Pradesh government’s formation of a two-member Special Investigation Team (SIT). The Uttar Pradesh government constituted the SIT last week to probe the six complaints filed against Zubair in various districts throughout the state.
Inspector General Preetinder Singh, who is now assigned to the Department of Prisons Administration and Reform, and Deputy Inspector General of Police Amit Verma comprise the SIT.
Zubair has also requested interim bail in each of the six FIRs. On July 12, the Supreme Court prolonged Zubair’s five-day interim bail till September 7 in the case filed against him by the Uttar Pradesh Police in Sitapur.
The Supreme Court emphasised that its interim bail judgement solely applies to the FIR filed in Sitapur and has nothing to do with a second case filed against him in Delhi.
Zubair had challenged an Allahabad High Court order refusing to cancel a FIR issued against him by Uttar Pradesh police in Sitapur for allegedly referring to three Hindu seers as “hate mongers.”
The Sitapur court remanded him to judicial custody and denied his bail application. Zubair was sentenced to 14 days in judicial custody by Hathras court on Saturday after two complaints were filed against him in the district on July 4.
Deepak Sharma filed the complaint after Zubair made comments against Hindu Gods and Goddesses in a tweet in 2018. Zubair was sentenced to 14 days in judicial custody by a Lakhimpur court last week.
Under the case filed against him, a Delhi court had also put him in judicial custody.
On June 27, Delhi police detained him for allegedly infringing on religious emotions in one of his tweets.
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