A bench from the SS Shinde and MS Karnik judges division said that if such a subpoena is issued, Goswami will appear before the police and cooperate with the investigation.
The court also ordered the police to present investigative documents related to the case in a sealed cover for reading before November 5 when it would hear the matter.
“The FIR is not an encyclopedia. We would like to examine the investigative documents and see what investigation has been conducted from today until the next hearing date,” the court said.
The court was hearing a petition filed by ARG Outlier Media Pvt Ltd, owner of Republic TV, and Goswami seeking to annul the FIR filed on October 6.
The petition has also sought an address to transfer the case to CBI to ensure a fair and transparent investigation and also on the basis that the case will have repercussions throughout India.
The statement said that the HC should suspend the investigation and prevent the police from taking any coercive action against the petitioners until their petition is known.
When appearing before the petitioners, lead attorney Harish Salve asked the court to grant Goswami protection from arrest.
“The police have been targeting him (Goswami) and there is fear that he may be arrested,” Salve said.
Lead attorney Kapil Sibal, who appeared for the Maharashtra government and police, said that since Goswami has not been named a defendant in the case so far, there can be no order granting him protection.
Sibal said that so far the police have cited eight people in connection with the TRP case and questioned them.
“None of these people have been arrested,” he said.
The court noted that since Goswami has not been named a defendant in the case, he cannot approve an order granting him protection or directing the police not to take any enforcement action against him.
“In the event that the Investigating Officer proposes to name Petitioner No. 2 (Goswami) as the defendant in the case, then, as was done with the eight persons, a summons (Goswami) will be issued to him. Petitioner No. 2 will then cooperate with the police, “the court said.
The court also raised doubts as to whether it was correct for the Mumbai police and its commissioner Param Bir Singh to hold press conferences on such matters.
“We do not know if it is the correct method or procedure to give interviews to the media. We are not talking only about this matter, but about many sensitive cases … we found policemen giving information to the media even when the investigation is ongoing. The police he must not reveal incriminating information related to the case, “said Judge Shinde.
Sibal, while agreeing to this, assured the court that the police will not speak to the media regarding the TRP scam case.
“But at the same time, even the petitioning channel must assure the court that it will not indulge in defaming the police and will conduct a trial with the media,” he said.
To this, Judge Shinde said: “The media are considered as the fourth pillar of democracy and therefore they must also behave responsibly.”
Salve, while seeking the annulment of the FIR, argued that no offense is constituted and that all police conduct reeks of malafide and was only an attempt to silence the voice of the petitioners.
“The petitioner has been targeted by the Maharashtra police and government since his strong reports during the Palghar lynching. A large number of FIRs have been registered against him after his reports. This is all a disguise and an excuse to attack. to Goswami and Republic TV, “said Salve.
However, Sibal said that the Palghar lynching incident and the petitioners’ reports on it have nothing to do with the present case.
“The present investigation concerns money paid to manipulate TRPs for commercial gain. The investigation is in an early stage. Perhaps many other media channels are also involved,” Sibal told the court.
The television channel filed the guilty plea in HC on October 16, a day after the Supreme Court refused to hear a guilty plea from one of its senior officials challenging the subpoena issued by the Mumbai police.
“The officials and key people of the canal management and Arnab Goswami have reasonable and tangible reasons to believe that they will be detained by the Mumbai police in connection with the FIR, which is false, frivolous, politically motivated and an attempt to gag the media and silence the Republic TV news report, “the petition read.
The Mumbai Crimes Section registered the FIR under various sections of the Indian Penal Code for fraud, criminal breach of trust and criminal conspiracy against Republic TV and its senior officials and also against two other local regional channels.
The statement also said that the court should initiate an IWC investigation and disciplinary proceeding under the service rules against Param Bir Singh for “gross negligence in the line of duty and abuse of power.”
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