Yesterday will go down in history as one of the darkest days when the Editor-in-chief of India’s largest media network- Republic TV was inhumanely assaulted, dragged and arrested after Mumbai police unilaterally re-opened an old 2018 closed case to harass Arnab Goswami. Now, suddenly after two years, it has dawned upon the daughter of the interior designer who had committed suicide in 2018, to have the case re-investigated.
According to reports, Adnya Naik, daughter of Anvay Naik has filed a plea in the Bombay High Court, for re-investigation of the “A” summary filed in connection with the FIR of her father’s suicide case. The Bombay HC Division Bench of Justices SS Shinde and MS Karnik is hearing the case along with Arnab Goswami’s habeas corpus plea since 3 pm today.
Plea filed by Adnya Naik, daughter of #Anvay_Naik, for re-investigation of the “A” summary filed in connection with the FIR of her father’s suicide case will be heard by #BombayHighCourt along with #ArnabGoswami’s habeas corpus plea at 3 pm. pic.twitter.com/wBDy8X7Es5
— Bar & Bench (@barandbench) November 5, 2020
Arnab moves to Bombay HC challenging his arrest, calls it Maha govt’s vendetta
Republic TV Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami has petitioned the Bombay High Court challenging his “illegal arrest” in a 2018 case of abetment of suicide of an interior designer and sought quashing of the FIR lodged against him by Alibaug police in Maharashtra.
Goswami has sought the following:
- A writ of habeas corpus directing the Alibaug Police to produce him in court claiming that his arrest and detention was illegal as Naik’s case was closed.
- Directions to quash the FIR of 2018.
- Quash the memo based on which he was arrested.
- His immediate release from the illegal detention and wrongful custody.
Goswami has submitted in his plea that the FIR of 2018 was closed by the Mumbai Police in 2019 after the “A” summary report was filed and accepted by the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Alibaug.
He added that the case was closed after a thorough investigation of the business transactions of ARG Outlier and after no material evidence was found against him or his network.
Goswami claims that the probe was re-opened “due to vendetta and personal animosity of the political dispensation in Maharashtra and the Commission of Mumbai Police based on the circulation of the video released by the wife of Anvay Naik by the State Government’s social media handles.”
Calling the assault on him and his family by the Mumbai police a blatant violation of his right to liberty and dignity, Arnab asserted that “an arrest at this stage, where there is no material or evidence available to make out a case under Section 306″.
The Bombay High Court is hearing this petition of Arnab Goswami along with Adnya Naik’s plea to re-investigate the case as well as the petition of Republic TV against Mumbai police trying to implicate in the TRP manipulation case by shielding the India Today channel, which was originally named in the complaint and the FIR in the TRP case.
The 2018 Abetment to Suicide Case
An FIR was filed against Arnab Goswami in 2018 in an alleged abetment to suicide case. An interior designer named Anvay Naik had committed suicide in his bungalow in Alibaug naming Goswami, and 2 other persons in his suicide note over some alleged non-payment of dues. Naik wrote that two persons named Feroz Shaikh and Niteish Sarda owed him Rs 5.4 crore. It was alleged that Goswami had not paid Naik Rs 83 lakh for a design project of a studio. The case was closed by the court after a closure report was filed by the police.
Scathing observations made by Magistrate court while rejecting Mumbai Police’s plea seeking custody of Arnab Goswami
Yesterday, while rejecting Mumbai Police’s plea seeking custody of Arnab Goswami, and instead, sending him to 14-day judicial custody, the magistrate court had made some scathing observations.
The court made the following 3 observations:
- The 2018 suicide case was opened by the police without sanction from the court.
- Chief Judicial Magistrate observed that there was no connection in the chain of suicide in the case in which Arnab was arrested, which was earlier closed in 2018 and now reopened, and Arnab Goswami’s role.
- The CJM also observed that there is no ‘justifiable ground’ for the police custody sought as he pronounced the judgment.
Arnab Goswami was arrested on Wednesday morning by a large team of police wielding AK-47 Assault rifles. The senior journalist was arrested after Mumbai police, at the behest of the Uddhav Thackeray government in Maharashtra, reopened a 2018 case which was earlier closed after police found no evidence against Arnab Goswami.
Arnab Goswami hounded by Maha Govt and Mumbai police
Arnab Goswami has come into the radar of the Maha Government ever since his channel pursued the Palghar lynching case and asked some uncomfortable questions to Congress President Sonia Gandhi and the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in the state. No add salt to the injuries, Republic TV went after the Sushant Singh Rajput’s murder case, which probably also hit the wrong nerve of the state government led by Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray which unleashed Mumbai police on the media network.
Thereafter, Mumbai police falsely implicated Republic TV in the TRP scam on the basis of an FIR naming India Today. The police had also reportedly coerced witnesses into naming Republic TV in the TRP scam. Mumbai police had also sought details of all financial transactions of the channel ever since its inception. Now, the Mumbai police has opened another front against Arnab Goswami, which is the 2018 suicide case which was closed back then.
