Another FIR against Alt News’ Zubair for reporting unsavoury truth

Yet another first information report has been registered against Mohammad Zubair of Alt News. This time, the charge is of allegedly disclosing the identity of the Muslim school boy was apparently subjected to a hate crime at his school. 

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THE Uttar Pradesh police has registered a fresh first information report (FIR) against Mohammad Zubair, co-founder of Alt News.

The latest FIR has been filed under Section 74 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.

It alleged that Zubair disclosed the identity of a Muslim school boy who was a victim of an apparent hate crime at his school.

On Friday, a video showing a Muslim student of Class 2 being slapped by his classmates in an apparent case of religious bigotry went viral. The schoolchildren were seemingly beating up their classmate on the instruction of Tripta Tyagi, their school teacher.

The incident drew widespread condemnation on social media.

Section 74 of the Juvenile Justice Act prohibits the disclosure of identity of children.

It reads: "No report in any newspaper, magazine, news-sheet or audio-visual media or other forms of communication regarding any inquiry or investigation or judicial procedure, shall disclose the name, address or school or any other particular, which may lead to the identification of a child in conflict with law or a child in need of care and protection or a child victim or witness of a crime, involved in such matter, under any other law for the time being in force, nor shall the picture of any such child be published."

The proviso to Section 74 carves out an exception to the effect that for reasons to be recorded in writing, the Juvenile Justice Board or Child Welfare Committee holding the inquiry may permit such disclosure, if in its opinion such disclosure is in the best interest of the child.

The Section entails imprisonment for a term which may extend up to six months or a fine which may extend to two lakh rupees or both.

Pertinently, Section 86(3) of the Act provides that where an offence under the Act is punishable with imprisonment for a term less than three years or with only fine, then such an offence shall be non-cognisable.

A reading of Section 86 of the Act with Section 155 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 implies that an FIR against Zubair could not have been lodged under Section 74 of the JJ Act because the police has no power to investigate a non-cognisable case without the Order of a magistrate having power to try such a case or commit the case for trial.

The FIR has been registered at the police station Mansoorpur in Muzaffarnagar at the behest of one Vishnudutt. 

Last year, Zubair was subjected to multiple investigations across the country.

The Supreme Court had noted that he was trapped in a vicious cycle of the criminal procedures where the process had itself become the punishment in which certain dormant FIRs from 2021 had been activated even as certain new FIRs were registered, thereby compounding the difficulties faced by him.