Karnataka High Court on Friday relieved Twitter India MD Manish Maheshwari who had been summoned by Uttar Pradesh Police for questioning over tweets about the assault of a Muslim man in Ghaziabad. Maheshwari need not travel to UP to testify- said Karnataka HC.
Sharply criticising the police, the court also said the notice issued to Mr Maheshwari – who was later charged with intent to riot, promoting enmity and criminal conspiracy – was “malafide” and amounted to “harassment” and “arm-twisting”. The UP Police had summoned Maheshwari to Loni Police Station (on the Delhi-UP border) for questioning about not removing objectionable tweets.
However, Maheshwari had declared himself available for questioning via a video call, but the offer was busted by the police, who insisted on his physical presence. Following this Maheshwari had filed a challenge to the summon.
An FIR was filed last month against Twitter India, several journalists and Congress leaders after an elderly man – Abdul Samad – alleged he was thrashed by some individuals and forced to chant “Jai SriRam” and “Vande Mataram”.
This was the first legal case lodged against the microblogging site after it had lost its immunity for not complying with the new OTT Lawsuit 2021.