The Allahabad High Court on Thursday declined to dismiss an FIR filed against Mohammed Zubair, co-founder of Alt News and a well-known fact-checker, over his posts on X concerning Yati Narsinghanand, the head priest of the Dasna Devi temple and a prominent Hindutva figure. The posts related to Narsinghanand’s alleged Islamophobic and hate speeches targeting Indian Muslims.
The bench, comprising Justice Siddhartha Varma and Justice Dr Yogendra Kumar Srivastava, emphasized the importance of allowing a fair investigation, Siasat Daily reported.
While the court refused to quash the case, it granted interim protection to Zubair, preventing his arrest for now. However, it barred him from travelling abroad during the ongoing probe.
The case stems from a complaint filed in October 2024 by Udita Tyagi, a close associate of Narsinghanand, who alleged that Zubair’s sharing of video clips of the priest was intended to provoke Muslims and pose a threat to the Hindu community.
Tyagi claimed that Mohammed Zubair’s social media posts led to violent demonstrations at the Dasna Devi temple in Ghaziabad. As a result, an FIR was filed against him under Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (threatening the sovereignty, unity, and integrity of India).
The Uttar Pradesh government, led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), supported the FIR, arguing that Zubair’s posts were often “half-baked” and “selectively edited” to mislead.
In response, Zubair defended his actions by invoking his constitutional right to freedom of speech. He asserted that his role as a fact-checker involved exposing communal narratives and countering misinformation. He also pointed out that many media organizations and social media users had similarly reported on Yati Narsinghanand’s controversial statements.