Another row brews: Twitter MD named in FIR over distorted India map

In a second case over a fortnight, Twitter India MD Manish Maheshwari has been named in an FIR for an incorrect map of India on its website, showing J&K and Ladakh as a separate country, media reports said.

The map, displayed in the ‘Tweep Life’ section of Twitter’s website, was removed on Monday (June 28) following a backlash.

“This act of treason has been committed intentionally and action should be taken,” says the complaint filed by Bajrang Dal leader Praveen Bhati. The case has been filed under Section 505(2) of the Indian Penal Code (creating or promoting enmity, hatred or ill-will between classes) and Section 74 of IT (Amendment) Act 2008.

Also read: Twitter deletes 52 Centre-flagged posts critical of COVID management

Amrita Tripathi, who also works with Twitter India, has also been named in the complaint filed in Bulandshahr, near Delhi.

Maheshwari was summoned last week by the state police over another FIR after posts linked to the assault of a Muslim man in UP’s Ghaziabad triggered a controversy. Along with Twitter, a few journalists and some Congress leaders were also named in the case. The complaint said the tweets were shared with an objective to “provoke communal sentiments”.

The MD of the social media giant received some relief from the Karnataka High Court when he was granted protection from arrest. The court also ruled that Maheshwari, who is a resident of Bengaluru, does not have to travel to UP. “If the police desire to investigate or question, they may do so by virtual mode,” the court said.

However, the state police on Tuesday (June 29) approached the Supreme Court challenging the Karnataka HC order giving Maheshwari temporary protection from arrest, media reports said.

Also read: Stop beating around the bush, follow IT rules: Centre tells Twitter

Amid the months-long clash with the government, Twitter on June 28 appointed its global legal policy director Jeremy Kessel as the grievance officer for India as per the Centre’s new rules requiring social networking websites to have India-based officers and act on complaints of content considered illegal, offensive or inimical to national interests.

An interim grievance officer appointed by Twitter India, Dharmendra Chatur, had resigned on Sunday (June 27), within weeks of taking charge. The government had earlier objected to Chatur’s appointment, saying it could not accept “outsiders” for statutory posts. Chatur is a partner at a law firm that represented Twitter.

Twitter had also been in trouble over posts related to farmers’ protests against the controversial laws in February.

The government had also told Twitter to remove the “manipulated media” tag from tweets posted by several BJP leaders on an alleged Congress ‘toolkit’. After the social media giant’s refusal, Delhi Police served notices, visited its offices in Delhi and Gurugram and questioned Twitter India chief Manish Maheshwari in Bengaluru.