Karnataka High Court grants interim relief to Twitter MD in UP case

Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court on Thursday granted interim relief to Twitter India Managing Director Manish Maheshwari, directing the Uttar Pradesh Police not to take any coercive action against him.

Maheshwari had approached the High Court for transit anticipatory bail in connection with the FIR filed by the police over tweets on the assault of an elderly Muslim man in Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad.

The UP Police had filed an FIR last week against Twitter India, several journalists, and Congress leaders after Abdul Samad alleged he was thrashed by some youth and forced to chant "Jai Sri Ram" and "Vande Mataram".

Journalists Rana Ayyub and Saba Naqvi, and Congress leaders Salman Nizami, Shama Mohamed, and Maskoor Usmani were also charged for posting and sharing "misleading" tweets and video, and "provoking communal sentiments".

In the tweet, Abdul Samad claimed he was forced to chant "Jai Shri Ram" and "Vande Mataram" though police ruled out a communal angle, saying the accused - both Hindus and Muslims - attacked the man after a dispute over amulets.