Twitter India Chief Manish Maheshwari, on Tuesday, 6 July, told the Karnataka High Court that he is ready to appear before the Uttar Pradesh Police if they give him an undertaking that he will not be arrested.
Maheshwari’s counsel, according to NDTV, told the court:
"If UP Police gives an undertaking to the court that they will not arrest me, I am ready to appear before the police in Ghaziabad within 24 hours.”
This is in connection with tweets about the assault of a Muslim man in UP’s Loni (Ghaziabad).
The court has now adjourned the matter to 3.45 pm on Wednesday, 7 July.
MORE DETAILS
Maheshwari also shared with the court that he had informed he was available for questioning via video conference but the UP Police had insisted on his appearance in-person.
Meanwhile, the UP Police claimed “we don’t want to arrest” even though they had originally sent notice to Maheshwari under a legal provision (41 A of the Criminal Procedure Code) that would have allowed his arrest.
The Twitter MD’s counsel, Senior Advocate CV Nagesh, was further quoted by ANI as saying:
“If respondent only wants to know from me who's in-charge of the company then where is the question of issuing me a notice under section 41A? A hidden agenda lies here. No complaint as such has been made nor a crime has been registered by the respondent against me.”Senior Advocate CV Nagesh
“The crime is registered only against an institution/company which is being run by a board,” pointed out the counsel, further adding that the directors' names are available and the police cannot name Maheshwari as the person representing the company.
WHAT DID THE COURT SAY?
The court, according to ANI, asked the UP Police what the “crux” of the allegation was.
“On Twitter, a doctored video was uploaded. Twitter India isn't connected with this incident. What is the allegation against it? There must be substance to say that Twitter India is capable of removing it.”
Further, the court said:
“You're probing the company. To probe, you're required to identify the individual but if the entity isn't able to commit such action where's the point?”
“This petition is nothing unless you can show he could've prevented it,” the court pointed out.
BACKGROUND
The Uttar Pradesh Police on 17 June had sent a legal notice to Twitter India's Managing Director Maheshwari, for provoking communal disharmony owing to posts on the microblogging platform that were made in connection with the alleged assault on a Muslim man in the state's Loni district earlier in June.
A video of the violent incident had gone viral on social media, and appeared to depict a hate crime against an elderly Muslim man.
The police, however, had stated subsequently that the incident had wrongfully been given a communal colour.
Maheshwari has been asked to come to the police station at Loni Border and record the statement within one week.
The Twitter director had previously indicated his availability for the police interrogation via video-conference — a plea that had been rejected by the police, who asked him to appear at the police station in person.
(With inputs from NDTV and ANI)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)