The Supreme Court, on Wednesday, while hearing the bail plea of Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami, conveyed its discontentment over the Bombay High Court order dismissing his bail plea.
The hearing comes two days after the Bombay High Court turned down Goswami’s plea against his arrest and the reopening of the case. Arnab Goswami is currently under judicial custody at Taloja prison in Navi Mumbai after he was arrested on 4 November in a 2018 abetment to suicide case of Anvay Naik under Section 306 and Section 34 of IPC by the Mumbai Police.
Reprimanding the Maharashtra government, the two-judge bench of the Justices DY Chandrachud and Indira Banerjee which is hearing the petition through video conferencing, observed that assuming the FIR is the gospel truth and that’s a matter of investigation, but is not paying up money abetment to suicide? It will be a travesty of justice if bail is not granted while FIR is pending.
Our democracy is extraordinarily resilient. Point is, governments should ignore them (taunts on TV). This is not the basis on which elections are fought. You (Maharashtra) think what they say makes any difference in the elections?
If state governments target individuals, they must realise there is apex court to protect the liberty of citizens.
Justice Chandrachud said, “I do not watch the channel. If constitutional courts do not interfere, we are traveling the path of destruction undeniably.”
Goswami was arrested along with two other accused Feroz Shaikh and Nitesh Sarda who have been named in the suicide note of designer Anvay Naik. Naik, in a suicide note, had alleged non-payment of dues by firms of the accused.