Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, July 1: In response to a petition by Mohammed Zubair, co-founder of Alt News, contesting a Patiala House Court order remanding him to police custody, the Delhi High Court on Friday gave notice to the Delhi Police.
In response to the appeal, which also raised an objection to the Patiala House court decision allowing the examination and seizure of Zubair’s laptop, Justice Sanjeev Narula ordered the Delhi Police to submit a counter-affidavit within two weeks.
“Considering the submissions, a response is called for. Let the counter- affidavit be filed in two weeks. Rejoinder to be filed one week thereafter,” the Court said.
The Delhi Police was also told by the court to give Zubair copies of the remand application. The magistrate would make a decision without regard to the High Court injunction, the sole judge further clarified. On July 27, the matter will be heard again.
The Patiala House Court remanded Zubair to four days of police detention on June 28.On June 27, the Delhi Police detained him. He was then brought before the on-call magistrate, who gave the police custody of Zubair for one day. He was then given a four-day remand to police custody by Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Snigdha Sarvaria.
Zubair was charged under Sections 153A (promoting enmity between religious groups) and 295 (injuring or defiling a place of worship, with intent to insult the religion of any class) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
