Alka Verma –
Published On: October 22, 2021 at 16:00 IST
On Friday, the Supreme Court of India issued a notice to Manish Maheshwari, former Managing Director (MD) of Twitter India, over a video posted on Twitter that showed the Assault and Harassment of a Muslim man.
The Supreme Court notice came after a Petition filed by the Uttar Pradesh Government in which they challenged the Judgement of the Karnataka High Court.
The Karnataka High Court in its Judgement quashed a notice issued by Uttar Pradesh Police to the ex-MD over the alleged video.
A Bench comprising Chief Justice of India NV Ramana, Justice Surya Kant and Justice Hima Kohli was hearing the matter.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who was appearing for UP Government argued that the actions of the Karnataka High Court raise the question of Territorial Jurisdiction of a High Court.
“There’s a question of law that needs your Lordships’ examination. For the time being, ignore the fact that the reason for the summons was issued. It was a 41A notice, so there was no question of Arrest etc. The question is the Territorial Jurisdiction of the High Court”, stated the Solicitor General.
However, the Bench asked Senior Advocates Dr AM Singhvi and Siddharth Luthra, who was appearing for the Respondent, to accept, the notice.
“Take notice. We have to hear this matter out. Yes, issue notice”, stated the Chief Justice of India.
On June 16, the Ghaziabad Police registered an FIR against a few journalists and media houses who posted the video of the Ghaziabad assault, stating that fake news was being circulated related to the incident to create communal disharmony.
The Police also asked Maheshwari, then MD of Twitter India, to join the investigation by issuing a summons to him.
However, the Karnataka High Court granted relief to him after he filed a Writ Petition against the summons of UP Police.
The High Court also directed the Police to not take any further steps in this matter, following which a Petition was filed in the Apex Court challenging the order of the High Court.
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