Twitter India MD seeks quashing of police notice asking him to appear in person
Bengaluru, Jul 8: Twitter India Managing Director Manish Maheshwari on Thursday sought the quashing of a notice issued by the Uttar Pradesh police seeking his physical presence in connection with a case registered for uploading and circulating a "communal sensitive" video on the platform.
Appearing on behalf of Maheshwari before the single bench of Justice G Narendar in the Karnataka High Court, his counsel C V Nagesh contended that the notice under Section 41 -A of the CrPC was issued "without jurisdiction, without the sanction of law."
He claimed that the first notice was issued on June 17 under Section 160 of the CrPC.
The legal obligation under Section 160 of the CrPC is based upon a person who resides at a place which is located within the territorial jurisdiction of the police station where the crime is registered, the counsel argued.
After the notice under Section 160 was issued, Maheshwari told the investigators that he did not know anything about the issue, Nagesh said.
He added that even if Maheshwari appeared before them in person, the reply would be the same.
"The IO (investigating officer) was not satisfied because there was a hidden agenda. Then what he (IO) did is, he invoked the powers under Section 41-A of the CrPC, which is not right", he alleged.
"Law does not empower him (the IO) to do so. It is an act which has been done without the sanction of law," the counsel argued.
The Twitter MD resides in Bengaluru, and his office is located in the city, Nagesh pointed out.
Maheshwari had earlier indicated that he was prepared to cooperate with the investigation through video conference.
The case has been posted for further hearing on Friday.
The Ghaziabad (Uttar Pradesh) police issued the notice under Section 41-A of the CrPC on June 21 asking him to report at the Loni Border police station at 10.30 AM on June 24.
Maheshwari then approached the Karnataka High Court as he lives in Bengaluru in Karnataka.
On June 24, the High Court, in an interim order, restrained the Ghaziabad police from initiating any coercive action against him.
Justice Narendar had also maintained that if the police wanted to examine him, they could do so through virtual mode.
The Ghaziabad Police on June 15 booked Twitter Inc, Twitter Communications India Pvt. Ltd. (Twitter India), news website The Wire, journalists Mohammed Zubair and Rana Ayyub, besides Congress leaders Salman Nizami, Maskoor Usmani, Shama Mohamed and writer Saba Naqvi.
They were booked over the circulation of a video in which an elderly man, Abdul Shamad Saifi, alleges he was thrashed by some young men who also asked him to chant 'Jai Shri Ram' on June five.
According to police, the video was shared to cause communal unrest.
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Maharashtra sets up state vaccination task force to strengthen immunisation programme
Mumbai (PTI): The Maharashtra government has set up a State Vaccination Task Force to strengthen the regular immunisation programme and review the progress of related campaigns, a health department official said on Monday.
The State Vaccination Task Force will comprise at least 29 members and will be headed by the administrative head of the health department, he informed.
The government has also constituted separate district-level and municipal vaccination task forces to improve implementation and address challenges at the grassroots level, he said.
Municipal task forces, chaired by respective civic commissioners, have been constituted in view of the vast urban population in Maharashtra and the role of civic bodies in implementing different health programmes.
The district-level task forces will function under the chairmanship of collectors.
"Complete immunisation of children at the appropriate age is an extremely simple, cost-effective and highly effective measure to reduce child mortality and the prevalence of diseases among kids. Immunisation is a powerful tool for reducing illness in children," maintained the official.
To ensure full vaccination of all children, the state government implements various campaigns from time to time as per the central government guidelines, he pointed out.
"Active participation and cooperation of other relevant government departments are essential (in making these campaigns successful)," according to the official.
The state-level body will review the regular immunisation programme, associated campaigns and vaccine-preventable diseases in detail. It will also conduct focused assessments of high-risk districts and municipal corporations, including vacancies at district, municipal and sub-district levels, availability of cold chain equipment, resource gaps and training requirements, he noted.
The state task force will review allocation and utilisation of funds for immunisation and ensure timely action by officers concerned based on reports from district and municipal task forces and state-level monitoring mechanisms, the official said.
It will also ensure active coordination and participation of other government departments in immunisation drives, while district and municipal task forces will carry out similar functions at their respective levels, the official added.
