New Delhi: The news of Twitter India’s Managing Director Manish Maheshwari’s transfer to San Francisco comes at a time when Uttar Pradesh police is going to challenge the relief granted to him by Karnataka High Court in a case related to circulation of fake hate crime video, which was shared on the micro-blogging site in June this year.
In June, Ghaziabad Police filed a case against Twitter and several other people after a fake hate crime video was shared widely on Twitter.
The case was filed against Twitter Inc and Twitter Communications India, and Ghaziabad Police summoned Twitter India’s Managing Director Manish Maheshwari to Loni police station to record his statement.
While Maheshwari wanted to appear before police through a video link but the Police insisted on his personal appearance at the Loni Border Police Station where the case is registered.
Bengaluru based Maheshwari, however, challenged the summons by Ghaziabd Police in Karnataka High Court which restrained the city police from taking any coercive action against him.
According to reports, the Karnataka High Court last month allowed the Ghaziabad Police to interrogate Maheshwari under Section 160 of Criminal Procedure Code (Cr.P.C), and not under Section 41A, which permits the police to arrest a suspect or an accused if he or she doesn’t cooperate in the investigation.
After the news of Maheshwari’s transfer to the US became public on Friday, a senior official in Uttar Pradesh police told ETV Bharat that if the police permitted any witness or accused to appear before it virtually then all others would demand the same treatment.
Also read: Twitter India MD moves to US in new role amid political storm
“On an average 15,000-16,000 FIRs are registered in a big city like Ghaziabad every year. It is not possible for police to investigate the matters over the video links,” the official told ETV Bharat requesting anonymity.
The official noted that Karnataka High Court had no jurisdiction in the matter as the place of incident is located in Uttar Pradesh and the city police will challenge the conditions imposed by the Karnataka High Court in the Supreme Court.
“We are going to challenge all the decisions of Karnataka High Court in this case,” the official cited above told ETV Bharat.
The official also clarified that police do not need any sanction from the state government for conducting an investigation under the Criminal Procedure Code (Cr.P.C) but an approval by higher authorities was required for filing a special leave petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court against Karnataka High Court’s decisions.
“We have already received the sanction,” the official confirmed to ETV Bharat.
On being asked about the prayer to be made by the Uttar Pradesh Police in the Supreme Court, the official said the police would pray for scrutiny of all the orders of Karnataka High Court in this case.
The Loni hate crime video case
In June, a video of a Loni resident, Abdul Samad Saifi, was shared in social media where he claimed that he was beaten by some people, forced to chant Jai Shri Ram and his beard was cut. After the video surfaced, Ghaziabad Police arrested six people who allegedly assaulted the old man but the Police ruled out a communal angle.
According to a report by the news agency PTI, Ghaziabad Police on June 15 filed FIR against Twitter, a news portal and several journalists and activists for sharing the video.
Also read: Ghaziabad assault case: Police slap legal notice on Twitter India chief
According to the PTI report, Ghaziabad Police in the FIR blamed the news portal, journalists and activists for sharing the video online with a communal angle without verifying the truth.
"Besides this, Twitter Inc and Twitter Communications India also did not take any measures to remove their tweets," the Police said in the FIR.
Growing problem for Twitter, Manish Maheshwari
The case registered against Twitter by Ghaziabad Police is not the only case for the social media giant to deal with. Police in national capital Delhi have registered cases against Twitter under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) for failing to stop circulation of child pornography on the platform and also under the Information Technology Act.
According to a report by news agency ANI, Delhi Police registered a case against Twitter Inc and Twitter Communications India Private Limited in June this year, citing the availability of child pornography on the platform. The police registered the case after it received a complaint from National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR).
Also read: Karnataka high court quashes UP police notice to Twitter MD
These cases under the POCSO Act and I-T Act were registered after Twitter failed to comply with the new rules that came into effect on May 25 this year. Non-compliance with the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 resulted in the loss of safe-harbor available to Twitter under Section 79 of the Information Technology Act.
The provision states that an intermediary shall not be liable for any third party information, data, or communication link made available or hosted on a platform if the entity complies with the conditions listed in the Section.
Probe in alleged Congress Toolkit Case
Prior to registration of cases against Twitter under the POCSO Act and the I-T Act, teams of Delhi police have visited Twitter’s office in Delhi and Gurugram after Twitter officials failed to appear before Delhi Police in connection with a probe in the alleged ‘Congress Toolkit’ case which was shared by the ruling BJP’s national spokesperson Sambit Patra.
In May this year, Patra shared a purported strategy document of Congress Party to defame Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government. Patra dubbed it as ‘Congress Toolkit’. However, Twitter labelled the tweet as ‘manipulated media’.
Congress leaders filed a police case in the matter and in the course of investigation Delhi police officials visited Twitter’s offices in Delhi-NCR seeking its assistance in the probe.
It rattled the social media giant that is known for cracking down on powerful people such as sitting US President Donald Trump who was permanently banned from the platform last year.
Also read: Uttar Pradesh Police defend move to issue notice to Twitter MD
“Right now, we are concerned by recent events regarding our employees in India and the potential threat to freedom of expression for the people we serve,” a Twitter spokesperson had told ETV Bharat on May 27 after the visits by Delhi Police to its premises in Delhi-NCR.
However, Delhi Police officials, quoted in media reports, defended the visits by Delhi Police teams to Twitter’s offices.
“Since Twitter Inc seemed to be acquainted with the facts and material to decide the veracity of the toolkit, Delhi Police asked them to join the investigation to provide any information they may possess," a Delhi Police official was quoted as saying in media reports.
A Twitter spokesperson Friday confirmed to ETV Bharat that Manish Maheshwari was staying with Twitter but was transferred to the US.
“We can confirm that Manish is staying at Twitter, and moving into a new role based in San Francisco as Senior Director, Revenue Strategy and Operations focused on New Market Entry,” the Twitter spokesperson told ETV Bharat.
Twitter, however, did not comment on the reasons for Maheshwari’s transfer to the US and about his replacement in India.
Also read: Police summons Twitter's Grievance Officer, four others over assault video
On being asked by ETV Bharat, a senior police official in Uttar Pradesh Police hinted that an impending police investigation could be a possible reason for foreign companies to transfer an employee out of India but refused to hazard a guess about any particular case.
When contacted by ETV Bharat, a senior Delhi Police official refused to share the progress of investigations in cases registered by Delhi Police against Twitter by citing the involvement of senior officials in the security arrangement for the Independence Day programme on Sunday.
In response to a congratulatory tweet by Yu Sasamoto, Twitter’s Vice President for JAPAC, Maheshwari said that he would use his India experience to drive revenue growth for the US social media giant.
“Looking forward to leverage my India experience to drive revenue growth in new markets around the world,” Maheshwari said in his reply.
However, it is not yet clear whether and how Maheshwari will assist in the ongoing police investigations against Twitter in India that pertains to his tenure as the country head.
Also read: Complaint filed against Twitter India, MD Manish Maheshwari for 'spreading communal hatred'
