Today, On 20th December, The Uttar Pradesh government informed the Allahabad High Court that Mohammed Zubair, co-founder of Alt News, was encouraging people to take the law into their own hands through his posts on X. The state argued that his content promoted violence and separatist tendencies while harming India’s sovereignty and integrity. Additional Advocate General Manish Goyal made these submissions before a bench of Justices Siddhartha Varma and Nalin Kumar Srivastava.
Prayagraj: The Allahabad High Court heard a plea filed by Alt-News Co-founder Mohammed Zubair, challenging an FIR accusing him of ‘promoting enmity’ through a post on ‘X’ about YatiNarsinghanand.
A bench of Justice Siddhartha Varma and Justice Nalin Kumar Srivastava heard the case.
Read Also: Mohammed Zubair Moves Allahabad HC Against FIR Over Tweet Concerning Yati Narsinghanand
The Uttar Pradesh government informed the Allahabad High Court today that a series of posts on X by Mohammed Zubair, co-founder of Alt News, allegedly contained “incomplete information” about a speech made by Yati Narsinghanand.
The government contended that these posts “damaged and threatened India’s sovereignty and integrity.”
Additional Advocate General Manish Goyal, speaking before a bench of Justices Siddhartha Varma and Nalin Kumar Srivastava, claimed that Zubair’s posts aimed to incite violence against Yati Narsinghanand and fostered “a sense of separatist activity.”
The FIR lodged by Udita Tyagi, general secretary of the Yati Narsinghanand Saraswati Trust, who claimed that Zubair posted a video clip from an old program featuring Narsinghanand on October 3, intending to provoke violence against him by Muslims. The complaint further alleges that Zubair shared edited clips of the priest on ‘X’ that contained Narsinghanand’s purported inflammatory remarks about Prophet Muhammad, aimed at inciting radical sentiments against the priest. In his post, Zubair described Narsinghanand’s alleged speech as “derogatory.”
Zubair has been charged under several sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including Section 196 (promoting enmity between different religious groups), Section 228 (fabricating false evidence), Section 299 (deliberate acts intended to outrage religious feelings), Section 356(3) (defamation), and Section 351(2) (criminal intimidation). Last month, the High Court learned that Section 152 of the BNS, which addresses acts threatening the sovereignty, unity, and integrity of India, had also been invoked against Zubair, and that the investigation is being conducted with thorough attention.
In response to the FIR, Zubair moved to the High Court, arguing that his post did not incite violence against Yati. He contended that he merely alerted the police about Narsinghanand’s conduct and sought legal action, asserting that his actions could not be construed as promoting discord between communities.
Earlier, a bench consisting of Justice Mahesh Chandra Tripathi and Justice Prashant Kumar recused themselves from the case, after which it was reassigned to the bench of Justice Varma and Justice Mishra.
Case Title
Zuber Qureshi vs. State of UP