HC stays arrest of Twitter CEO, refuses to quash FIR against him

The Rajasthan High Court Wednesday stayed the arrest of Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey but refused to quash an FIR against him for allegedly defaming the Brahmin community.

Senior counsels Mahesh Jethmalani and Sandeep Kapur had moved a criminal miscellaneous petition praying for quashing of the FIR and staying the probe against Dorsey.

Justice P S Bhati rejected the appeal but stayed his arrest, said H M Saraswat, the counsel of petitioner Rajkumar Sharma.

While arguing, Dorsey's counsel told the court there was no such case made out against him as he did not do anything to disseminate hatred against the community and accord an institutional proportion to hatred.

"The court asked them to submit any document or evidence in support of their arguments in the court," Saraswat said.

A court had issued directions to file an FIR against the Twitter CEO on December 1, following which a case was registered against him at the Basni police station.

Petitioner Rajkumar Sharma, a member of Vipra Foundation, had moved the court after he shared a picture on his account showing him with six women holding a poster in his hands that said "Smash Brahminical Patriarchy".

Though, the picture of his visit to India was removed later and an apology tendered, Sharma claimed it was unforgivable and deserved punishment for targeting Brahmins.