Alt News Co-Founder Mohammad Zubair, who was arrested in an alleged hate speech case, walked out of Delhi's Tihar jail weeks after the Supreme Court on Wednesday granted him an interim bail in all the FIRs lodged in Uttar Pradesh. The bail was granted by a bench of Justices DY Chandrachud, Surya Kant and AS Bopanna who also rejected Uttar Pradesh's Additional Advocate General Garima Prasad's demanded that Zubair should not post any tweet till the time matter is pending.
"It is like telling a lawyer that you should not arguea..How can we tell a journalist that he will not write?" Justice Chandrachud said.
While pronouncing the verdict, the top court also clarified that Zubair will be entitled to bail in future FIRs in connection with tweets, which are already under investigation. The bench even granted Zubair the liberty to approach the Delhi High Court for seeking quashing of all the FIRs.
Zubair had moved the apex court seeking a direction to quash the six FIRs registered against him by the UP Police in Hathras, Ghaziabad, Muzaffarnagar, Lakhimpur Kheri, and Sitapur.
Immediately upon the presentation of the bail bonds, the Superintendent at the Tihar Jail shall take necessary steps to ensure that the petitioner is released from judicial custody no later than by 6 pm today, the top court directed.
However, due to delay in legal procedures, the journalist was released from Tihar Jail at around 7 pm. The SC has also ordered disbanding of the SIT, constituted by the UP police.
The top court also said that Zubair would be released on interim bail in all the FIRs lodged in UP after depositing a bail bond of Rs 20,000 with Chief Metropolitan Magistrate at Patiala House Court.