Updated: November 6, 2020 8:38:06 am
Republic TV Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami after the Alibaug court hearing at midnight Wednesday (Express photo by Narendra Vaskar)
ONE DAY after he was placed in preventive detention for 14 days in a 2018 incitement to the suicide caseRepublic TV editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami was unable to obtain provisional relief from the Bombay High Court on Thursday.
Upon hearing Goswami’s habeas corpus petition for “immediate release” and a stay of the investigation by the Raigad police, a bench from the division of Judge SS Shinde and Judge MS Karnik said it would listen to both parties first and would approve an order on Friday. The court said it was ready to examine the case and hear arguments from Goswami’s lawyer on Friday. He also said that respondents should have the opportunity to challenge the case before approving an order on Goswami’s guilty plea seeking interim measures.
On Wednesday morning, Alibaug Court Chief Magistrate Sunaina Pingle called the arrest of Goswami and two other individuals “prima facie illegal” and did not grant Raigad police custody, but instead sent them into judicial custody for two weeks.
Goswami and two other people were charged with complicity in the suicide of interior designer Anvay Naik, who in a suicide note held all three responsible for the deaths of him and his mother Kumud Naik in May 2018. All three, According to the suicide note and the police officers, he owed Rs 5.38 crore to Concorde Designs, of which Anvay was the Managing Director, and Kumud, a director.
The CJM had noted that the Raigad police had failed to obtain court permission to reopen a closed case, did not establish a link between the deaths of Anvay and his mother Kumud, and did not provide valid reasons for granting police custody.
At the Bombay High Court, Goswami was represented by lead attorneys Harish Salve and Abad Ponda at the virtual hearing. They requested his provisional release, arguing that Goswami’s detention was “completely illegal”. Ponda urged the court to suspend the investigation of the 2018 FIR by the Raigad police.
Ponda alleged that an FIR closure report was presented in April 2019, which was accepted by the magistrate and was not challenged in any court by the Naik family. He said Raigad police intervened suo motu without any court order or permission to reopen the case. “The way it has been done is completely shocking to a prudent person. The police cannot resurrect a dead case, ”said Ponda.
Security outside the Alibaug court on Wednesday night (Express photo by Narendra Vaskar)
Lead Attorney Harish Salve asked: “Will the sky fall in Maharashtra if he is released on provisional bail? When it comes to a citizen’s freedoms, sometimes procedures have to be addressed. “
The court issued notices to the state government and asked Goswami’s lawyers to add Akshata Naik, Anvay Naik’s wife, as part of Arnab’s petition. The court also requested that a copy of the statement be delivered to the central government.
The bank said it will also hear a statement on Friday from Adnya Anvay Naik, Anvay Naik’s daughter, seeking a new investigation of the summary report ‘A’ filed in connection with the FIR of her father’s suicide case.
Goswami’s court case said the arrest was carried out in a “flagrant violation of the fundamental rights to life and personal liberty” and the dignity guaranteed by article 21 of the Indian Constitution. He said that the petitioner was “forced out” of his residence by some 20 Mumbai police officers and allegedly dragged into the vehicle, and that his son was assaulted in the process.
“It is shocking that a case that was decisively closed has been reopened for the sole purpose of abusing power, fabricating facts, and forcibly arresting the petitioner (Goswami) in a prima facie act of revenge and revenge for his news coverage that he was questioning those in power in the state of Maharashtra, ”the statement said.
“The petitioner has been attacked by the police and has been unjustly and illegally detained in a motivated, false and closed case. This is another attempt by the political policy of witch hunt and vendetta against the petitioner and his channel, ”the petition alleges.
In his guilty plea, Goswami has requested to be “immediately released” in addition to a stay of all subsequent proceedings, including the FIR investigation. The motive also urged that no enforcement action be taken against him with respect to the FIR.
Claiming that he was “illegally arrested” and “unjustly detained” by the police despite the closure report, Goswami has sought to overturn the FIR and overturn any orders arising from it.
Lead attorney Amit Desai and state government prosecutor Deepak Thakare sought time to respond to the guilty plea and the Court issued notifications to the state.
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