LUCKNOW: The Ghaziabad Police have added new charges against Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair for “endangering the sovereignty, unity, and integrity of India,” along with relevant sections of the IT Act, in their October 8 FIR.
The district police informed the Allahabad High Court about the additions during the hearing of Zubair’s plea to quash the FIR filed against him for sharing a video clip of Yati Narsinghanand.
Zubair’s lawyer, Vrinda Grover, said, “During the hearing on Monday, the UP Police mentioned that additional sections had been included in the FIR against the Alt News co-founder.
The court then directed them to put it on record. This morning (Wednesday), the Investigating Officer filed an affidavit informing the court that Sections 152 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and 66 of the IT Act had been added.”
Grover explained that the earlier sections in the FIR carried a maximum penalty of less than seven years of imprisonment, which did not necessitate Zubair’s arrest.
“However, Section 152 pertains to a non-bailable offence, putting the personal liberty of the accused at risk. We hope the court intervenes to rectify this,” she told media persons.
Section 152 of BNS addresses acts endangering the sovereignty, unity, and integrity of India and is considered a non-bailable offence.
The Ghaziabad Police registered the FIR on October 8 following a complaint by Udita Tyagi, general secretary of the Yati Narsinghanand Saraswati Trust. The complaint cited Sections 196 (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion), 228 (fabricating false evidence), 299 (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings), 356(3) (defamation), and 351(2) (punishment for criminal intimidation) of the IPC.
Tyagi alleged that Zubair shared a video clip on October 3 of an old programme by Narsinghanand to incite violence against him.
In response, Zubair filed a writ petition before the Allahabad High Court seeking to quash the FIR.