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Arnab Goswami Granted Bail By Supreme Court In 2018 Abetment To Suicide Case

The Supreme Court said if it did not “interfere in the case today, we will walk on a path of destruction" and that the Bombay HC was incorrect in not granting him bail.
Republic TV editor-in-chief and Prime Time anchor Arnab Goswami appear at NM joshi marg police station on June 10, 2020 in Mumbai.
Hindustan Times via Getty Images
Republic TV editor-in-chief and Prime Time anchor Arnab Goswami appear at NM joshi marg police station on June 10, 2020 in Mumbai.

Expressing concern over state governments targeting individuals, the Supreme Court on Wednesday Republic TV editor Arnab Goswami an interim bail.

While hearing Goswami’s appeal on Bombay High Court order denying him bail, the Supreme Court said that if it did not “interfere in the case today, we will walk on a path of destruction.”

A Supreme Court bench led by Justice DY Chandrachud was hearing an appeal against the Bombay High Court denying bail to Goswami.

Bar and Bench quoted Justice Chandrachud as saying, “We hold HC was incorrect in not granting bail. Arnab Goswami and two other accused be released on interim bail on a bond of Rs 50,000. Commissioner of Police is directed to ensure order is followed immediately.”

The Supreme Court asked the Maharashtra government if Arnab Goswami’s case required custodial interrogation and said “we are dealing with issue of personal liberty”.

“We are seeing case after case where HCs are not granting bail and failing to protect personal liberty of people,” the court said.

The court, while hearing the case, said that the Maharashtra government must ignore Arnab’s taunts of TV and that the India democracy was resilient, reported PTI.

Goswami and two others, Feroz Shaikh and Nitesh Sarda, were sent to 14-day judicial custody by a magistrate court late on November 5 in connection with the 2018 Anvay Naik suicide case.

Naik, who was an architect and an interior designer, had named Goswami in a suicide note saying he had not been paid for the work he did for Republic TV.

Goswami was arrested from his home on Wednesday by the Mumbai police on charges of abetment to suicide. The court said that curtailing a person’s personal liberty was a travesty of justice.

While Goswami was booked under section 306 (abetment of suicide) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code, Bar and Bench quoted Justice Chandrachud as saying,“Let’s take this as the suicide note and with everything as it stands. A owes B money, A pays a part and B commits suicide. Then will section 306 lie here?”

Justice Chandrachud added, “If we don’t interfere in this case today we will walk on path of destruction. If left to me I won’t watch the channel and you may differ in ideology but constitutional courts will have to protect such freedoms then we are walking on path of destruction.”

The court also said that the governments must realise that the Supreme Court was there to protect the liberty of citizens. “If we as a constitutional court do not lay down law and protect liberty then who will?” Bar and Bench quoted Justice Chandrachud as saying.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.