Ghaziabad case: Karnataka HC reprieve to Twitter India chief; gets protection from coercive action

The Karnataka High Court, on Thursday, barred the Uttar Pradesh Police from initiating coercive action against Twitter India's managing director Manish Maheshwari in connection with the probe into the circulation of a video clip of the assault on an elderly Muslim man in Ghaziabad.

Maheshwari, who lives in Bengaluru, was issued notice by the Ghaziabad police on June 17 and asked to report at its Loni Border police station within seven days to get his statement recorded in the case. He had filed a plea in the Karnataka High Court over the notice issued to him.

A single bench of Justice G. Narender, passing an interim order, said, "Prima facie the petitioner is apprehending deprivation of liberty. There will be an interim order restraining the respondents from initiating any coercive action against the petitioner," reports LiveLaw.

The matter will come up for hearing on June 29.

The court granted permission to the police to examine the petitioner, virtually and said at this time, Maheshwari does not have to travel to Ghaziabad to appear before the police.

Appearing for Maheshwari, advocate C.V. Nagesh pointed out that his client is merely an employee of the platform and has no role in the circulation of the video.

"In two days, the notices (from the police) to me changed from witness to accused," Maheshwari told the court. "I have nothing to do with any of the allegations... some accused uploaded a video but they have registered a FIR against me," he added, reports NDTV.

The court told the police, "At least prima facie you should show that Maheshwari is responsible or in charge."

The Ghaziabad Police had, on June 15, booked Twitter Inc, Twitter Communications India, news website The Wire, journalists Mohammed Zubair and Rana Ayyub, besides Congress leaders Salman Nizami, Maskoor Usmani, Shama Mohamed and writer Saba Naqvi. They were booked over the circulation of a video in which the elderly man, Abdul Shamad Saifi, claims he was allegedly thrashed by some young men who also asked him to chant ''Jai Shri Ram'' on June 5. The police claim the video was shared to cause communal unrest.

—With PTI inputs