The Supreme Court on Monday uploaded its judgment in the Mohammed Zubair case in which it said how "the machinery of criminal justice" was "relentlessly employed against the petitioner".
On July 20, an SC bench comprising Justices DY Chandrachud and AS Bopanna granted bail to the co-founder of Alt News in all six FIRs against him and issued a release warrant in all 7 cases lodged against him in UP and Delhi.
Zubair had been arrested on June 27 by the Delhi Police based on a complaint filed by a Twitter user alleging that the journalist's tweets had hurt his religious sentiments.
In the judgment, the apex court stated how the month-long ordeal had infringed upon Zubair's personal freedom. "Arrest is not meant to be and must not be used as a punitive tool because it results in one of the gravest possible consequences emanating from criminal law: the loss of personal liberty.
"Individuals must not be punished solely on the basis of allegations, and without a fair trial. When the power to arrest is exercised without application of mind and without due regard to the law, it amounts to an abuse of power," the judgment said.
The SC that had protected Zubair from any precipitative action in relation to any FIRs noted that "the machinery of criminal justice has been relentlessly employed against the petitioner".
"Despite the fact that the same tweets allegedly gave rise to similar offences in the diverse FIRs mentioned above, the petitioner was subjected to multiple investigations across the country.
"... he is trapped in a vicious cycle of the criminal process where the process has itself become the punishment. It also appears that certain dormant FIRs from 2021 were activated as certain new FIRs were registered, thereby compounding the difficulties faced by the petitioner."