Karnataka HC grants interim relief to Twitter MD

The Karnataka High Court on Thursday granted interim relief to Twitter India head Manish Maheshwari and told the Ghaziabad police not to take any coercive action against him. Bangalore-based Maheshwari moved the high court after the Ghaziabad Police summoned him to its Loni Border police station to record his statement in connection with a video that seemed to show a hate crime targeting a man in Ghaziabad, and was amplified as such. The police, however, subsequently claimed it was not a communal incident. The Twitter India MD, who resides in Bengaluru, was issued notice by the Ghaziabad Police earlier this week and asked to report at its Loni Border police station at 11.30 am on Thursday to get his statement recorded in the case.

Maheshwari’s counsel told the court that he is an employee of Twitter and he had nothing to do with the offence. He also highlighted that Ghaziabad Police wanted Maheshwari to be present in-person despite Supreme Court and high court stating that the statement can be recorded through video-conferencing. The police also gave him seven days to get his statement recorded in the case. He had earlier declared himself available for questioning via a video call, but the offer was rebuffed by the police, who insisted on his physical presence.