The Jodhpur Bench of the Rajasthan High Court today granted a stay on the arrest of Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey in the case filed against him for 'hurting religious sentiments and defaming Brahmins'.
The petition read: “The petitioner, being unaware about the full and complex meaning of the placard, happened to be holding the gifted placard during the group photo.”
The complaint had claimed that his act amounted to spreading ‘hatred against Brahmins’ and ‘destroying Indian culture’.
Dorsey contended that he didn’t publish the photo online or RT it, and that no offence had been committed by him.
His petition stated: “The placard does not outrage the Hindu religion and accordingly does not offend the religion or religious beliefs of Brahmins. It is pertinent to note here that neither was the holding of the photograph, an endorsement of its content and most certainly the intent was not to disrupt public order.”
It further said: “The petitioner is unaware of the history and complexity of the caste system in India. He has no idea, whatsoever, as to what connotation the expression 'Brahminical Patriarchy' has, and does not subscribe to the views that Brahmins are a patriarchal community.”
A court in Rajasthan’s Jodhpur had ordered police to register a case against Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey whose picture holding a controversial poster had kicked up a row.
Metropolitan Magistrate Rachna Bissa ordered Basni police station to file the FIR on a complaint by Rajkumar Sharma, the state vice president of the Vipra Foundation’s youth wing.
Sharma said he submitted a written FIR in Basni police station, but the police didn’t register a case after which he approached the court.
The photo was taken during Dorsey's recent trip to India.
Sharma had said the post was "anti-Brahmin" and used coarse language, which was humiliating and thus, intolerable for the community.
Twitter has tendered an apology in the matter and said the post did not reflect its views or those of its CEO.
Saraswat said the petition has been filed under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including 295 A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings), 500 (defamation) and 120 B (criminal conspiracy).
"He (Dorsey) has committed the crime of triggering hatred for a community and we would proceed against him in the court," he added.
The class-specific poster seemed to have offended many Indians with the former chief financial officer of Infosys, TV Mohandas Pai, accusing Dorsey of "hate-mongering" against Brahmins and of institutionalising hatred.
"As an Indian, I am disappointed at Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey's 'Smash Brahminical Patriarchy' placard - will Minister @Ra_THORe (Rajyavardhan Rathore) pl take action for this hate mongering against an Indian community, spreading hatred? @PMOIndia @rsprasad," Pai tweeted.
Twitter, in a statement, said it had hosted a closed-door discussion with a group of women journalists and change makers from India to better understand their experience about Twitter.
One of the participants shared her experience as a Dalit woman and at the conclusion of the session, gifted a poster to Jack, a Twitter spokesperson said.
"The sentiments expressed on the poster do not reflect the views of Twitter as a company or Jack as the CEO, and we regret that this picture has detracted from an otherwise insightful trip to India," the spokesperson added.
The spokesperson said Twitter is a platform where "marginalised voices can be seen and heard, but we also have a public commitment to being apolitical. We realise that this photo may not accurately represent that commitment".
