Breaking: Supreme Court Transfers UP FIRs Against Mohammed Zubair To Delhi, Grants Him Interim Bail In All FIRs
The Supreme Court has transferred the FIRs registered against Mohammed Zubair in Uttar Pradesh to Delhi and has granted him interim bail in connection with the said FIRs.
The Bench of Justice D. Y. Chandrachud, Justice Surya Kant and Justice A. S. Bopanna ordered as follows:-
All FIRs registered againt the Petitioner including 6 FIRs noted above arising out of his tweets should be transferred for investigation to the special cell of the Delhi Police. As a consiquence of above direction, the SIT constituted by the UP police shall be disbanded. While we are inclined to transfer FIR registered at UP to the special cell of the Delhi Police, we reserve remedy to the petitioner to take recourse to remedy under section 482 CrPC. All proceedings connected with the FIR would lie before the Delhi High Court for all remedies available under law. While we have not proceeded to quash the FIRs, we expressly clarify that we have guaranteed liberty to petitioner to move the Delhi HIgh Court under Secion 482 CrPC. The direction to transfer the FIRs to the Special Cell of Delhi Police shall apply to all the existing FIRs and to any future FIRs that may be registered against him on the same subject matter. We also order and direct that Petitioner shall be entitled to protective order granted by this Court in respect of the FIRs registered and that may be registered. We alllow the Petition in part.
The petitioner shall stand enlarged on interim bail subject to his filing the personal release bond of Rupees 20 Thousand in connection with the FIRs;
The investigation in the above above FIRs shall stand transferred and entrusted from the UP Police to the Special Cell of the Delhi Police;
As a consiquence, the SIT constituted by the DIG, UP shall stand disbanded;
The direction shall be extended to any FIR that may be registered again the Petitioner with respect to the same subject matter, in which event the investigation of the FIR shall stand transferred to the Special Cell of the Delhi Police. The Petitioner shall be entitled to the order of interim bail as directed above.
Petitioner is at liberty to pursue his rights and remedies under Article 226 of the constitution and Section 482 of CrPC in respect to the FIRs registered against him.
The above is as transcribed during the dictation of the order in Court.
Advocate Vrinda Grover appeared for Zubair and Senior Advocate Garima Prashad, the AAG of Uttar Pradesh appeared for the state.
During the hearing, Garima Prasad argued that every time Zubair makes 'malicious' tweets, he gets more money and that he is not a journalist.
The Bench during the previous hearing had remarked that the "vicious cycle is egregious", referring to the multiple FIRs. The Bench also observed that the contents of all the FIRs are similar and ordered that the petition be listed on Wednesday and that in the meanwhile no precipitative steps should be taken in the remaining 5 FIRs against him without the order of the Supreme Court.
Zubair has approached the Supreme Court seeking quashing of 6 FIRs that have been registered against him in Uttar Pradesh. The plea challenges the FIRs filed against him at Lakhimpur Kheri, Sitapur, Ghaziabad, Muzaffarnagar and two FIRs that have been filed in Hathras. Zubair has also challenged the SIT that has been constituted by the Uttar Pradesh Police. Zubair has made an alternative prayer for the FIRs to be clubbed together with the FIR filed in Delhi.
Zubair is currently on interim bail granted by the Supreme Court in the case filed against him in Sitapur where he was accused of hurting religious sentiments by tweeting against Mahant Bjarang Muni, Yati Narsinghanand and Swami Anand Swaroop and referring to them as "hate mongers".
Zubair has been granted regular bail in the FIR filed against him in Delhi and has been granted interim bail in Sitapur but is under judicial custody in FIRs filed against him in one case in Hathras and Lakhimpur Kheri.