Tweet by Alt News' Mohammed Zubair does not constitute cognisable offence: Delhi Police to High Court

The Delhi Police has said that the tweet by Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair for which two First Information Reports (FIRs) were registered against him, does not constitute any cognisable offence..In a status report filed before the Delhi High Court, the Police have said, “The tweet in question of Mohd. Zubair does not constitute any cognizable offence.".The case against Zubair relates to his tweet posted in August 2020 when he replied to an abusive message from a user named Jagdish Singh.Singh was alleged to have been abusing Zubair on Twitter. In response to this, Zubair posted Singh’s display picture, featuring a little girl who was his granddaughter, while blurring her face.The tweet read,“Hello Jagdish Singh. Does your cute grand daughter know about your part time job of abusing people on social media? I suggest you to change your profile pic.”A month later, two FIRs were filed against him in Delhi and Raipur under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO Act) for allegedly "threatening and torturing" a minor girl on Twitter..Breaking: Delhi HC directs no coercive action against Alt News' Mohammed Zubair in FIR for allegedly threatening minor girl on Twitter.However, the Police has said that one his followers, identified as Wasiuzzaman Ansari, posted offensive remarks in his tweet addressing Jagdish Singh.The report said that on May 7 this year, Ansari joined the investigation. During his interrogation, he said though he follows Zubair on Twitter, he does not know him personally. His mobile phone is being analysed for forensic evidence; the Court has been told.With respect to Zubair, the status report said that he joined the investigation on May 13 and stated that he has over 4.6 lakh followers on Twitter. Zubair does not know most of them, including Ansari, personally, he is stated to have informed the Police.