[BREAKING] Karnataka High Court grants interim protection to Twitter MD Manish Maheshwari in FIR filed by UP Police

The Karnataka High Court today granted interim protection from arrest to Twitter MD Manish Maheshwari in relation to the FIR filed by the Uttar Pradesh Police over the Ghaziabad attack video..The Court also directed UP Police to not take any coercive action against Maheshwari in the interim. ."Meanwhile, there will be an interim order straining the respondent Police from initiating any coercive action against Petitioner. In the event, respondent police desires to communicate with petitioner for investigation, they may do so by virtual mode," ordered Justice G Narendar..Senior Advocate CV Nagesh, appearing for Maheshwari, submitted that his client was merely an employee of Twitter India, and had no role to play in the circulation of the videos. It was submitted that Maheshwari was not a member of Twitter's Board of Directors, and was not responsible for uploading the video.In fact, he is only the revenue head looking after advertisement and sales, Nagesh said..Moreover, it was submitted that the UP Police first served summons to Maheshwari under Section 160 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) to appear as a witness. To this notice, Maheshwari had replied saying that he was not in a position to travel to Ghaziabad from Bengaluru and had requested for recording of his statement through online means.Later, notice under Section 41A CrPC was served on him, threatening he would be arrest if he failed to turn up at Loni Police Station, Ghaziabad.Citing the Vinod Dua case, it was contended that the Supreme Court had allowed the recording of statements through online mode..Advocate Prasanna, appearing for the UP Police, objected to maintainability of the writ petition, raising the issue of lack of territorial jurisdiction.The Bench, however, said that the question of maintainability can be decided later. As the petitioner is apprehending arrest in Bengaluru, the question of interim relief needs to be considered."At least prima facie you must show that he is responsible for the material posted...", the Bench added..The matter will be heard next on June 29..An FIR was registered against Twitter and others in the backdrop of a video wherein an elderly Muslim man was asked to shave his beard and was forced to chant "Vande Mataram" and "Jai Shri Ram".However, the Uttar Pradesh Police ruled out any "communal angle" and said that Sufi Abdul Samad, the elderly man, was attacked by six men who were unhappy over the tabeez (amulets) he had sold them.The FIR stated that the accused circulated a video of the incident on their Twitter handles without checking its authenticity, and that they gave the video a communal angle and intended to incite communal hatred between religious communities. .Maheshwari had filed a writ petition before the Karnataka High Court against the notice issued by UP Police in relation to this FIR, under Section 41A CrPC. Maheshwari was directed by the UP Police to appear before Loni Border Police Station as part of the investigation into the Ghaziabad video issue..Earlier this week, the High Court had issued notice in the transit anticipatory bail plea filed by co-founder of fact-checking portal AltNews, Mohammed Zubair, who is also named as an accused in the FIR..Ghaziabad attack video: Karnataka High Court issues notice in Mohammed Zubair transit anticipatory bail plea