Fact-Checker Zubair Faces Fresh FIR: Accused of Threatening India’s Sovereignty

Ghaziabad: The Uttar Pradesh police informed the Allahabad High Court on Wednesday that an FIR filed against Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair includes charges of “endangering the sovereignty, unity, and integrity of India.”

The investigating officer revealed that the FIR cites Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), claiming Zubair’s actions jeopardize the country’s sovereignty and integrity.

This development came during the hearing of Zubair’s petition seeking to quash the FIR lodged against him for sharing a video clip of Yati Narsinghanand, a priest associated with Ghaziabad’s Dasna Devi Temple.

The FIR, registered last month following a complaint by Udita Tyagi, the general secretary of the Yati Narsinghanand Saraswati Foundation, alleged that Zubair shared an old video of Narsinghanand to incite violence against him by Muslims. The video featured the priest making inflammatory remarks against Prophet Muhammad.

Earlier in September, Narsinghanand reportedly urged people to burn effigies of the Prophet during an event in Ghaziabad, triggering protests by Muslim communities across Uttar Pradesh who demanded legal action against him.

Zubair, however, has refuted the allegations. In his plea, he asserted that his post aimed to highlight Narsinghanand’s history of incendiary and hateful comments, which often targeted women and public figures.

This is not the first time Zubair has faced legal troubles. In June 2022, he was arrested for a 2018 social media post.

Alt News, the fact-checking platform co-founded by Zubair, issued a statement condemning what it described as “legal harassment” against its co-founder.

“This is yet another instance of state machinery being misused to intimidate individuals and organizations committed to combating hate and misinformation. Alt News stands firmly with Zubair in his ongoing fight for truth and accountability,” the statement read.

The case continues to draw widespread attention as debates about free speech, hate speech, and the misuse of legal provisions persist in the public sphere.