The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted interim bail to Republic TV managing director and editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami and two others in 2018 abetment to suicide case on a bond of Rs 50,000.
An apex court bench headed by Justice Chandrachud directed the Commissioner of Police to ensure the order is followed immediately.
Earlier today, the top court told senior advocate Harish Salve, who is representing Goswami in the case, that in the bail plea of his client, the only “prayer which survives is the quashing of FIR”, slamming the state of Maharashtra for “targetting an individual”.
The SC said that they are “seeing case after case where High Courts are not granting bail and failing to protect personal liberty of people”, and expressed concern over state governments “targeting individuals on the basis of ideology, difference of opinion”.
“If we as a constitutional court do not lay down law and protect liberty then who will? If a state targets an individual like that, a strong message needs to be sent out, they must realise there is apex court to protect liberty of citizens… Our democracy is extraordinarily resilient,” Justice Chandrachud observed.
The top court also asked Maharashtra whether Goswami’s case requires custodial interrogation, and said “we are dealing with issue of personal liberty”, adding that “it would be travesty of justice if personal liberty of a person is curtailed”.
“Before you begin, there is one aspect we look at in these matters where there is a challenge to the FIRs. The only prayer which survives is the quashing of FIR,” Justice Chandrachud said when the hearing commenced.
Goswami was jailed along with two other accused Feroze Shaikh and Nitish Sarda in the 2018 abetment to suicide case of 53-year-old interior designer Anvay Naik and his mother over non-payment of dues by the companies of the accused. The plea, filed via advocate Nirnimesh Dubey, challenges the November 9 order of the Bombay High Court refusing Goswami interim bail.
“Whatever be his ideology, lest I don’t even watch his channel, but if in THIS case, the constitutional courts do not interfere today, we are traveling the path of destruction undeniably… Our democracy is extraordinarily resilient. The Maharashtra government must ignore all this (Arnab’s taunts on TV),” Justice Chandrachud stated.
Salve argued that the “overlay of malice and fact, abuse and conduct of state power is not something that happens on daily basis”.
“We are past the FIR stage. The FIR was lodged in May 2018, and after this the matter was probed. The power to re-investigation was wrongly used,” he told the apex court.
“For abetment, there must be a direct and indirect act of commission of the offence. If a person commits suicide in Maharashtra and blames the government, will the CM be arrested? Need to apply proximity test to prove abetment to suicide case,” he added.
Goswami’s appeal against the Bombay High Court’s rejection of his bail was listed in the apex court registry for hearing by the vacation bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and Indira Banerjee.
In his petition to the top court, Goswami, who is lodged in Taloja jail in Raigad district, stated that the balance of convenience is in favour of the petitioner and he would suffer irreparable harm and injury if the operation of the Bombay HC’s order is not stayed during the pendency of the present petition.
Arnab Goswami’s bail petition
“Multifarious proceedings have been initiated against him, his news channel, Republic TV and Republic Bharat and their employees at the behest of political dispensation in Maharashtra and the state police,” the Republic TV editor-in-chief said in his petition.
“It is, therefore, most respectfully prayed that the petitioner’s arrest was illegal, mala-fide and politically motivated as evident from the multifarious proceedings initiated against him,” read the petition.
“The Bombay High Court had erred in law by refusing bail to the petitioner (Arnab Goswami) by its order of November 09, 2020, especially when the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Raigad, Alibaug in its remand order of November 4, had observed that the arrest of the petitioner and other accused in the 2018 FIR was illegal and there were no grounds made out for granting police custody of the Petitioner and other accused,” it said.
Meanwhile, Goswami’s bail plea is also scheduled for hearing in the trial court during the day. The high court will hear the pleas of the three accused seeking to quash the FIR on December 10.
Goswami was arrested on November 4 from his Lower Parel residence in Mumbai and taken to Alibaug in neighbouring Raigad district. ( TN )
