A court in Uttar Pradesh'🐻s Lakhimpur Kheri on Saturday rejecte♕d the bail petition of Alt News Co-founder Mohammad Zubair in a case for allegedly promoting enmity.
The bail application was moved before Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate 🦩Mohamaddi on July 11 after the court sent Zubair to a 14-day judicial custody🍰 in the case.
"After hearing the arguments by the prosecution and the defense counsel, ACJM Ruchi Srivastava rejected Mohd. Zubair's bail plea," Senior Prosecuting Officer (SPO) SP Yadav told PTI.
Y♛adav said a hearing on Zubair's police rema🍸nd is scheduled to be held on July 20.
The Lakhimpur Kheri Police had s🐭erved a warrant on Zubair to appear in court in connection with the FIR registered against Zubair on November 25 last year by Ashish Katiyar, a reporter for a private news channel.
"In his complaint, Katiyar had accused Zubair of misleading pe♕ople through his tweet about his channel," said 🗹a district police officer.
On Friday, a Delhi court granted bail to Zubai🍨r in a case related to an "objectionable" tweet he had posted in 2018 against a Hindu deity. The case was filed last month and he was arrested on June 27.
Besides Delhi and Lakhimpur Kheri, cases are also filed against Zubair in 🦩UP's Sitapur, Hathras, Ghaziabad, and Muzaffarnagar.
In the Sitapur case, the Supreme Couꩲrt on Tuesday extended Zubair's interim bail til🎐l further orders. However, the bail would have no bearing on other casess. The court further clarified that it was not staying the investigation.
In the Hathras case, a court on Thursday remanded Zubair to 14 day judicial custody in a case of hurting religious sentiments. He was produced before Chief Judicial Magistrate Shivkumari under heavy♓ security in conneඣction with a case filed at the Sadar Kotwali police station on June 14.
The UP government on Tuesday constituted a special investigation team (SIT) for a "transp♏arent" probe into cases lodged against Zubair in various districts. The SIT, headed by Inspector General (Prisons) Preetinder Siꦬngh, has been asked to conduct an investigation "expeditiously" and submit a charge sheet in court.
(With PTI inputs)
