K’taka HC relief for Twitter India chief
BENGALURU/NEW DELHI: In a relief to Twitter India head Manish Maheshwari, the Karnataka high court on Thursday restrained Ghaziabad Police, which has summoned him in connection with a probe related to the assault of an elderly Muslim man there, from initiating coercive action against him.
The single bench of justice G Narender said the police can examine Maheshwari through video conferencing.
“If the police desire to examine the petitioner (Manish Maheshwari), they may do so through virtual mode,” the court said.
“If the matter requires consideration, we list it on June 29. In the meanwhile, restraining the respondents from initiating any coercive action against the petitioner,” the court maintained.
“It is case of petitioner that he has replied to notice under section 160 of CrPC to join through virtual mode.The respondent (Ghaziabad Police) taking objection to the request has turned around and issued notice under section 41(A) virtually putting him in shoes of accused,” it observed.
Appearing on behalf of Maheshwari, advocate CV Nagesh said someone had posted a video on the Twitter platform alleging that a Muslim was forced to chant “Jai Sri Ram” and “Vande Mataram”.
Subsequently a notice under section 161 of the CrPC was issued to Maheshwari by email and responding to it, he said he would be ready to appear virtually.
Soon the police issued a notice under section 41(A) asking him to appear in person within 24 hours to travel from Bengaluru to Ghaziabad, which was not possible for Maheshwhari, Nagesh told the court.
The complaint against Twitter and several journalists was lodged at Loni Border police station on June 15. The people named -- Twitter, Twitter Communications India, news website TheWire, journalists Mohammed Zubair and Rana Ayyub, besides Congress leaders Salman Nizami, Maskoor Usmani, Shama Mohamed and writer Saba Naqvi -- were booked for “promoting enmity between religions” by posting and promoting the video even as conflicting narratives of the attack emerged.
The video showed a 72-yearold Muslim man being beaten up and his attackers chopping his beard. The Ghaziabad police have said the incident was not communal but a personal dispute of the victim with the suspects but the victim’s family has alleged a religion angle.
“If the police desire to examine the petitioner (Manish Maheshwari), they may do so through virtual mode KARNATAKA HIGH COURT
In this connection, the Ghaziabad Police have already arrested local politician Ummed Pehalwan who they say, allegedly, manipulated the video for political gains.
The Karnataka high court maintained that the petitioner is an employee of Twitter Communication India Private Limited handling marketing and sales and not a member of board of directors to be responsible for uploading of the alleged video based on which the first information report (FIR) was registered.
The Twitter India managing director, who lives in Bengaluru in Karnataka, was issued notice by the Ghaziabad Police on June 21 and asked to report at its Loni Border police station at 10.30 am on Thursday to get his statement recorded in the case, officials at Ghaziabad said. “He (Maheshwari) is not coming today,” senior superintendent of Police Amit Pathak earlier told PTI.