Cameraperson: Ribhu Chatterjee and Shiv Maurya
Video Editor: Purnendu Pritam
Alt News co-founder Mohammad Zubair was granted interim bail in all cases against him on Wednesday, 20 July. But the cases against him still stand, and he has to still move the Delhi High Court for quashing of the several FIRs against him.
In any case, real justice is miles away as press freedom still appears to be under threat.
The top court did, however, uphold the importance of press freedom, as they responded to Uttar Pradesh government counsel AAG Garima Prashad's request to ban Zubair from tweeting further, saying:
“Telling a journalist to not write is like telling a lawyer to not argue.”
Earlier this year, Reporters without Borders ranked India 150 out of 180 nations in the world press freedom index. But the central government rejected the ranking, saying “the government does not subscribe to this.”
Here’s our press freedom song, inspired by the popular sea ballad, ’The Wellerman.'
There once was a journalist and he did tweet
Flagged all the hate spewed on TV
And he was booked, arrested and so
O blow, my bully boys, blow
Soon may the justice come
And cases quashed, or bail be done
Syn-di-cate, say prosecution
But that ain't what facts show
He used the word ‘hatemongers,’ sure
But you must remember who he used it for
Hate-speech accused and furthermore
The police have booked them so
Soon may the justice come
And cases quashed, or bail be done
Syn-di-cate, say prosecution
But that ain't what facts show
Da da da da da da
Da da da da, da da da da da da
Da da da da da da
Da da da da da da
In 2018, he did tweet
A joke with a scene from an old movie
One that was from 1983
But they came after him once more
Soon may the justice come
And cases quashed, or bail be done
295A, say prosecution
But that ain’t what facts show
From New Delhi to Jammu-Kashmir
Journalists booked for conspiracy
They're nabbed for national security
Feels like someone's settling scores
Soon may the justice come
And press be freed, shackles undone
Article 19 of the Constitution
Is fundamental, you know
Da da da da da da
Da da da da, da da da da da da
Da da da da da da
Da da da da da da
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)