Hearing a plea against the Bombay High Court order voiding the FIR against Arnab Goswami, Chief Justice of India SA Bobde observed on Monday that the high court seeking a sense of security about liability in filing reports.
“Frankly speaking, I cannot bear it. There has to be responsibility in reporting. This is not the kind of public discourse we should have. The most important issue is peace and harmony in society, no one is immune from being questioned,”, said the CJI.
In June, the Bombay High Court had suspended two FIRs filed against Arnab Goswami, Republic TV’s editor-in-chief, for alleged libelous statements made against Acting President of Congress Sonia Gandhi and ‘communalizing’ a gathering of migrant workers in Bandra of Mumbai in April.
The first FIR accuses Goswami of using derogatory language against Gandhi and making “inflammatory statements” during discussions of the Palghar lynching incident on his channel on April 16. The second FIR was presented by Irfan Abubakar Shaikh, secretary of the Raza Educational Welfare Society, and accuses Goswami of creating communal disturbances by the gathering of migrant workers in Bandra.
Goswami had addressed the Bombay High Court demanding that the FIRs be annulled.
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