NEW DELHI: Twitter India MD Manish Maheshwari, who had been summoned by the Uttar Pradesh Police for questioning over tweets about the assault of a Muslim man in Ghaziabad, has been granted temporary protection from arrest by the Karnataka High Court. The court also said Maheshwari does not have to travel to UP at this time.
A single-judge bench of Justice G. Narender said. “This matter needs further consideration”, and reserved orders till 29 June. “No coercive action (till then)…” the judge said. To an objection by UP Police that this meant Maheshwari, who is a resident of Bengaluru, had been granted anticipatory bail, the court said it was not stopping the investigation.
“If police desire to investigate or question, they may do so by virtual mode,” Justice Narender said.
During the Thursday hearing, Maheshwari had told the Karnataka HC: “In two days, the notices (from the police) to me changed from witness to accused.” He pointed out that on 17 June UP Police sent him a notice identifying him as a witness under Section 160 of Code of Criminal Procedure. Two days later, they sent him another that listed him as an accused under Section 41 of the CrPC, which would have allowed his arrest.
“I have nothing to do with any of the allegations… some accused uploaded a video, but they have registered a FIR against me,” Maheshwari said. “I am in Bangalore. The police sent notice via email. I responded stating I am not in a position to come to Ghaziabad… offered to appear via online. But they want my physical presence,” he added.
The court questioned UP Police over the summons, saying: that Maheshwari “is not director of day-to-day activities of Twitter. At least prima facie you should show he is responsible”.
UP Police had said Maheshwari and Twitter India’s Resident Grievance Officer, Dharmendra Chatur, who was also summoned, were responsible for activities on the digital platform.
An FIR was filed last week against Twitter India, several journalists and Congress leaders after an elderly man, Abdul Samad, alleged he was thrashed by some others and forced to chant “Jai SriRam” and “Vande Mataram”. A video of the incident was widely shared on social media.
Twitter India had been ordered to delete certain posts but initially failed to do so. The UP Police summons accused Twitter of failing to remove certain “objectionable” tweets.