NEW DELHI: An Indian court said on Thursday Twitter’s country head should face no “coercive action” in a case where police summoned him for failing to stop the spread of a video that allegedly incited religious discord.

Last week, police in Uttar Pradesh state sent a written summons to Twitter India head Manish Maheshwari to appear before officials and answer allegations that include inciting “hate and enmity” between Hindus and Muslims.

Maheshwari, who is based in Bengaluru city in southern Karnataka state, appealed to the court and sought to quash the summons, sources familiar with the matter said.

On Thursday, “the judge said no coercive action can be taken against him and he can be examined via video conferencing”, one of the sources said. A second source said the order in effect gives Mahesh­wari protection from any possible arrest by the police.

Published in Dawn, June 25th, 2021