Ghaziabad 'assault' video | Willing to meet cops on condition of no arrest, Twitter India chief tells Karnataka HC

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Twitter India chief Manish Maheshwari told Karnataka High Court that he is ready to meet the Ghaziabad police for enquiry but on the condition that there will not be any arrest.

Justice G Narendar was hearing a petition regarding Maheshwari's appeal on appearing before the Ghaziabad police related to the assault video case on July 6. The court had granted interim relief to Maheshwari from appearing before the Uttar Pradesh police earlier.

Arguing for not appearing before the police, legal counsel CV Nagesh representing Maheshwari said that while he is ready to appear either physically or virtually, it would only be on the condition that the Uttar Pradesh police give an undertaking.

In the absence of that, the counsel said, “It (arrest) is a Damocles sword that is hanging over my head. All they need to do is record a reason.”

According to one of the legal provisions under which he was booked, Section 41 (A) empowers police to arrest him on grounds that he has not cooperated with police, especially when he is just an employee and has no control over the content on the platform. Also, Maheshwari is from Bengaluru, which is not under the jurisdiction of the Uttar Pradesh police.

The counsel also argued that Twitter India should not be confused with its US subsidiary, which has control over the platform. This also means that Twitter India will not come under Section 79 of the IT act related to intermediaries as well, he added.

The Karnataka High Court on July 6 asked Ghaziabad police if they have prima facie determined whether Twitter India has control over the content on the platform and capable of removing content.

Justice Narendar asked, “Is Twitter India capable of removing content?”

According to the Judge, the accused, Maheshwari, has already stated that Twitter India has no control over content on the platform and he is merely an employee of the firm. In that case, the judge asked what is the allegation levelled against Twitter India. “This petitioner is nothing unless you can prove that this person could have prevented or controlled the content,” the Judge said.

Twitter India was named as one of the accused in the case filed by Ghaziabad police on June 15 for sharing the video of an assault on a 65-year-old person in Ghaziabad. The video, which emerged earlier this month, showed miscreants attacking a senior citizen, identified as Abdul Samad Saifi, and cutting off his beard. In another video, the elderly man claimed he was assaulted due to his religion.

Maheshwari, who is the MD of Twitter India, was asked to appear before the police in Ghaziabad. However, an appeal was filed in the Karnataka High Court, which granted interim relief and the hearing was scheduled for July 6.

While the legal counsel for the UP police argued that Twitter India failed to remove the content, which is not in line with the new IT rules, the judge said that the case has nothing to do with the IT rules. If the petitioner wants to bring it in, the petition should be amended.

The hearing will continue on July 7 at 3.45 PM.

 Government and Twitter

On June 28, Maheshwari was named in another FIR since the Twitter site incorrectly shows Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh as a separate country. He was also booked under Indian Penal Code Section 505 (2), for public mischief and Section 74 of the Information Technology Act, which deals with publication for a fraudulent purpose.

These incidents come at a time when the US microblogging platform is at loggerheads with the government over compliance with the new IT rules that came into effect on May 26. Earlier, the company’s interim grievance officer Dharmendra Chatur quit and the firm is yet to appoint chief compliance and nodal officer. The firm currently names the US-based Jeremy Kessel as the grievance officer.

India is one of the largest markets for Twitter with about 17.5 million users.