The Supreme Court on July 8 granted Mohammed Zubair, the co-founder of fact-checking website Alt News, interim bail in a case registered by the Uttar Pradesh Police accusing him of insulting religious feelings.
But Mr. Zubair may not immediately walk out of jail a free man. According to Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who appeared for the State of Uttar Pradesh, he is in judicial custody on the orders of a Delhi court in a separate case.
A Vacation Bench of Justices Indira Banerjee and J.K. Maheshwari stressed the bail had been granted only in the case registered at Sitapur in Uttar Pradesh. "This court is not concerned at this stage with any FIR other than FIR No. 0226 dated June 1, 2022 lodged at Police Station Khairabad, Sitapur, Uttar Pradesh, which is the subject matter of these proceedings," the order read.
