The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the BJP leader and advocate Prashant Umrao to tender unconditional apology for tweeting that migrant labourers from Bihar were being hanged in Tamil Nadu and to appear before State police on April 10 at 10.00 am.

Observing that a responsible member of the bar should think before posting such tweets, a bench of Justice BR Gavai and Justice Pankaj Mithal directed Prashant Umrao to apologise and appear before the investigating officer as it modified the Madras High Court’s order which had asked the lawyer Umrao to report to the police station from 10.30 am to 5.30 pm every day for 15 days. The High Court had also asked him to tender an apology.

The High Court had imposed these conditions while granting him anticipatory bail. “You as a responsible member of the Bar, should not have made such tweets” observed Justice Gavai.

The top court said that after appearing before the investigating officer (IO) at 10 am on April 10, he will appear when required by the IO.

“The condition requiring the petitioner (Umrao) to report to the police station between 10.30 am to 5.30 pm for 15 days is modified. He shall appear on Monday at 10 am and thereafter as and when required by the investigating officer,” the bench said in its order while issuing notice to the Tamil Nadu government on Umrao’s plea for the clubbing of all the FIRs registered in different police stations in the State.

The bench said that the anticipatory bail granted to Umrao by a single judge of the High Court will be applicable to any FIR registered in Tamil Nadu relating to the controversial tweets.

Senior advocate Sidharth Luthra told the bench that Umrao was facing multiple FIRs arising from the same tweets and apprehends arrest if he goes to Tamil Nadu.

Luthra appearing for Umrao said that he has already deleted the tweets based on which multiple FIRs have been registered against him.

However, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi appearing for Tamil Nadu government told the bench that Umrao has not appeared even once before the police station and has also not tendered apology as directed by the High court though more than 17 days have passed since order was passed.

Rohatgi clarified that there was only one FIR against him.  In other FIRs Umrao has not been named as an accused. He took the court through various reports alleging attacks on Bihari migrant labourers in Tamil Nadu just before the Holi festival.

 Umrao has moved the top court for clubbing of the multiple FIRs registered against him in different police stations over his tweet and against the condition imposed by the Madras High Court while granting him anticipatory bail.

Umrao is Uttar Pradesh BJP spokesperson and standing counsel of Goa, was booked for allegedly tweeting disinformation about migrant labourers from Bihar in Tamil Nadu.

The Tamil Nadu police booked Umrao for the tweet and FIRs were registered in various police stations in the state under Sections 153 (provocation with intent to cause riot), 153A (hate speech), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) and 505 (statements conducing to public mischief) of the Indian Penal Code.