Incorrectly informed media that Mohammed Zubair had been sent to 14-day judicial custody: Delhi Police DCP

Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) KPS Malhotra said on Saturday that he had incorrectly informed the media that Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair was sent to 14-day judicial custody even before the court pronounced its order, PTI reported..The fiasco took place soon after the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate hearing Zubair's case reserved its verdict, which will be delivered shortly.Several reports began making the rounds based on a statement by the Delhi Police that the Court had rejected Zubair's bail plea, and sent him to 14 days of judicial custody..However, our reporter, who was present in court, confirmed that the order had not been pronounced yet..Zubair's lawyer, Advocate Soutik Banerjee, also went on record to clarify that the Court was yet to pronounce its order on Zubair's bail plea."I am shocked to see that the DCP KPS Malhotra has leaked in the media that bail has been rejected and 14 days of JC has been granted. I have learnt this by looking at Twitter posts of news channels...it is extremely scandalous and it speaks of the status of rule of law in our country today", Banerjee said in the video..The order was set to be pronounced at 4 pm. However, the judge has not presided yet. .[Watch video].The Delhi Police has sought Zubair's judicial custody in a case registered against him for promoting enmity among religious groups based on a tweet posted by him in 2018.Besides invoking provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Delhi Police has also booked Zubair for offences under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA).Zubair was arrested by the Delhi Police on June 27 and had been remanded to one-day police custody by the duty magistrate. He was then produced before CMM on June 28 and was remanded to further police custody for 4 days.He was initially booked for offences under Sections 153A (promoting enmity between religious groups) and 295 (injuring or defiling place of worship, with intent to insult the religion of any class) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).Subsequently, offences under Section 35 of FCRA and Sections 201 (destruction of evidence) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC were added..Read a detailed account of today's hearing here.