SC Extends Interim Protection From Arrest Granted To Arnab Goswami

In his plea, Arnab Goswami contended that the “FIR is politically motivated” and that Mumbai Police “harbours ill-will and malice towards” him.

New Delhi| On Monday, the Supreme Court continued the interim protection from arrest to Republic TV Anchor Arnab Goswami.

Supreme Court reserved its order on the Goswami’s plea seeking quashing of an FIR by Mumbai police in connection with a TV show on the gathering of migrants outside Bandra railway station on April 14.

The court also reserved its order on a request seeking transfer of the case from the police to the Central Bureau of Investigation.

In his plea, the TV Anchor contested that the “FIR is politically motivated” and that Mumbai Police “harbours ill-will and malice towards” him. Arnab has asked protection from coercive action and quashing of the FIR.

Defence advocate Harish Salve, during the hearing, termed the FIR as an “arm twisting tactic” and said his client was questioned for over 12 hours by the Mumbai Police amid the national lockdown. He also claimed that one of the officers who had investigated him tested positive for COVID-19.

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The actions of the cops will have a chilling effect on the freedom of the press, the senior lawyer said. “What does a CEO of the company have to do with a news telecast,” the lawyer said.

Quoting examples of the questions asked by the police, Salve said, “The offence is of disrupting the communal harmony but please see the nature of the investigation.”

He was mentioned the various FIRs against Goswami by Congress leaders and workers over his alleged defamatory statements against party chief Sonia Gandhi during a news show on the lynching of three persons, including two sadhus, in Palghar in Maharashtra.

(Inputs from the Indian Express)