Alt News co-founder Mohammad Zubair gets bail but can't leave the country

New Delhi: A Delhi court on Friday granted bail to Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair in a case related to an "objectionable" tweet he had posted in 2018 against a Hindu deity. Additional Sessions Judge Devender Kumar Jangala granted the relief to Zubair on a bail bond of Rs 50,000 and one surety of the like amount and directed him “not to leave the country” without its prior permission.

Sessions Court of Patiala House Court grants bail to Alt News co-founder Mohammad Zubair in the alleged tweet case. pic.twitter.com/vTjVDqwK6m

— ANI (@ANI) July 15, 2022

However, he will stay in jail for two cases filed in Uttar Pradesh.

A magisterial court had on July 2 dismissed his bail plea and sent him to 14-day judicial custody (JC) in the case, citing the nature and gravity of the offences against the accused and observing that the matter was at an initial stage of the investigation.

The co-founder of fact-checking website Alt News has requested the Supreme Court to cancel six cases filed against him by the Uttar Pradesh Police. Mohammed Zubair was arrested on June 27 by the Delhi Police over his four-year-old tweet sharing a screenshot from a popular Hindi movie.

He was charged and arrested just days after he flagged a video of suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma's provocative comments on Prophet Mohammed during a TV debate.