The Chhattisgarh State Government has officially informed the Chhattisgarh High Court that a closure report has been submitted in a POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) case against Alt-News co-founder Mohammed Zubair. The case was linked to a tweet posted by Zubair in 2020.
The state counsel presented this information before a bench consisting of Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Arvind Kumar Verma. Following this, the division bench disposed of the plea filed by Zubair, in which he had sought to quash the FIR registered against him under the IT Act, IPC, and POCSO Act.
Read also: Chhattisgarh HC Calls for Relaxation of Rigid Bail Conditions Under Section 45 PMLA
Background of the Case
The case revolved around a tweet made by Mohammed Zubair in 2020. In the tweet, Zubair had shared a profile picture of a man named Jagdish Singh, who was seen standing with his minor granddaughter. Zubair questioned whether Singh, who had allegedly used derogatory language (including calling Zubair a "Jihadi"), should be using such language while having a profile picture featuring a child.
"Hello Jagdish Singh. Does your cute granddaughter know about your part-time job of abusing people on social media? I suggest you change your profile pic."
Read also: Supreme Court Grants Interim Bail to Ex-Civil Servants in Chhattisgarh Coal Levy Scam Case
Zubair had allegedly blurred the face of the minor girl before posting the tweet.
After Zubair's tweet, Jagdish Singh filed a complaint with the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR). The NCPCR then wrote to the Delhi Police and Raipur Police, claiming that the tweet amounted to torture and harassment of a minor girl.
Based on the NCPCR's communication, the Raipur police registered an FIR under multiple legal provisions:
- Section 509B of IPC – Sexual harassment by electronic means
- Section 12 of POCSO Act – Punishment for committing sexual harassment upon a child
- Section 67 of the IT Act – Punishment for publishing or transmitting obscene material electronically
Read also: Supreme Court Grants Bail in UAPA Case, Condemns Chhattisgarh Police for Misuse of Law
Challenging the FIR, Mohammed Zubair approached the Chhattisgarh High Court under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). His legal counsel argued that the FIR was an abuse of legal process and that the tweet did not constitute any criminal offense under the alleged sections.
In October 2020, the High Court had issued an order stating that no coercive action should be taken against Zubair.
In August 2023, the Delhi High Court ordered Jagdish Singh to apologize publicly on X Corp (formerly Twitter) for his offensive tweet in which he called Zubair a "Jihadi" in 2020.
This order was passed after the Delhi Police filed a status report stating that no case had been registered against Singh for the offensive comment against Zubair.
The Delhi Police had previously been criticized by the court for not taking any action against Singh, despite his derogatory comment being publicly available.
With the Chhattisgarh government now confirming that the police have submitted a closure report, the case against Mohammed Zubair has been officially closed. This development brings an end to the legal proceedings that started after the controversial tweet in 2020.
