India’s Supreme court ordered releasing of a journalist over a controversial tweet

An Indian journalist, Mohammed Zubair, has been given the release on bail over the accusations of a “highly provocative” tweet in 2018, by India’s Supreme Court. The tweet was supposedly aimed at straining ties between Hindus and Muslims. Regardless of the accusations, the tweet itself had no evidence of causing harm to the religious sentiment of Hindus.

When he was granted bail, the court said that keeping Zubair in custody had no legal power. As a vocal critic of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Zubair and his colleagues accused the federal government of giving the police orders in silencing journalists and critics undermining the freedom of the press and speech.

In this atmosphere, it is important to note that India is ranked 150th on the 180-country World Press Freedom Index.