Karnataka HC grants relief to Twitter India MD, directs cops to not take coercive action
25 Jun 2021 13:27:52
Bengaluru, June 25: Twitter India Managing Director (MD) Manish Maheshwari got interim relief from UP Police after Karnataka High Court directed the Ghaziabad Police not to take any coercive steps against him in connection to Uttar Pradesh's Loni case.
Justice G Narendra of the Karnataka High Court heard the case. During the hearing, Twitter Managing Director Manish Maheshwari's counsel had informed Karnataka HC that his client is living in Bengaluru. The council said that Supreme Court and High Court have said that statement can be recorded through video-conferencing but Ghaziabad Police wants his personal presence.
After the hearing, the Maheshwari's appeal High Court further said that if the Ghaziabad Police wants to examine Twitter MD, then it can do so through virtual mode. The matter will now be heard by the court on June 29.
Maheshwari had approached the Karnataka High Court after the Ghaziabad Police issued a second notice against him asking the Twitter MD to arrive at the Loni Border Police Station to record his statement.
Police issued the second notice after Maheshwari refused to appear before the police in person but said that is ready to appear before it via video conference.
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The Ghaziabad Police had filed FIR against nine entities, including Twitter India, in connection with the Loni incident.
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In the FIR, the Police had said, "There is no communal angle to the incident in Loni where a man was thrashed and his beard was chopped off. The following entities - The Wire, Rana Ayyub, Mohammad Zubair, Dr. Shama Mohammed, Saba Naqvi, Maskoor Usmani, Salman Nizami - without checking the fact, started giving communal color to the incident on Twitter and suddenly they started spreading messages to disrupt the peace and bring differences between the religious communities."
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