Mohammad Zubair sent to 14-day custody; moves SC to get 6 UP FIRs nixed | India News

AGRA: Alt news co-founder Mohammad Zubair on Thursday moved the Supreme Court seeking the quashing of all six FIRs registered against him in UP. The development came on the same day that a local Hathras court remanded him to 14-day judicial custody, fixing the next date of hearing on July 27.
The fact checker’s SC plea challenged FIRs registered in Sitapur, Lakhimpur Kheri, Ghaziabad, Muzaffarnagar, and Hathras. It also challenged the formation of a special investigation team (SIT) by the UP government to probe cases pertaining to “provocative tweets” posted by him.
Earlier in the day, the Hathras court of the chief judicial magistrate gave its remand orders in connection with a case against Zubair for allegedly “insulting” Hindu deities on social media. The complaint was filed by the president of Rashtriya Swabhiman Seva Dal Deepak Sharma last month.
Zubair, who was produced physically before the court amid tight security, has been charged under IPC sections 153A (promoting enmity), 295A (acts to outrage religious feelings), and 298 (uttering, words to wound religious feelings), along with section 67 (publishing or transmitting obscene material) of the Information Technology Act.
His name was added in another FIR that was lodged at the Sikandrarao police station in Hathras last month.
Deepak Sharma’s counsel Kapil Mohan Gaur said Zubair’s statement was recorded by police and that cops “may have applied” for his police custody remand.
After the hearing, Zubair was sent to Delhi’s Tihar jail. He was first arrested by the Delhi Police on June 27 over a tweet in 2018. Later, he was remanded in several other FIRs registered by the UP police.