On Wednesday, the Maharashtra Assembly has sent a second notice to Arnab Goswami in connection with the breach of privilege motion notice that was sent to him earlier. The breach of privilege motion was brought against Arnab Goswami in the Assembly after the government accused him of using derogatory language against Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and NCP chief Sharad Pawar.
In the second notice issued to Arnab Goswami, he has been given time till the 20th of October to respond to the notice.
“Arnab was asked to clarify in writing till October 5th on the privilege motion which he did not. If he does not send the written reply by October 20th, then action will be taken against him as per the rules”, the notice said, according to reports.
Reportedly, the Legislature had also taken objection to the fact that Arnab Goswami had submitted the details of the Assembly proceedings in the Supreme Court without former notice and informing the Secretariat. It is to be noted that Arnab Goswami had approached the Supreme Court against the privilege motion.
In this regard, Maharashtra Legislature Secretariat issued a notice to Arnab Goswami, chief of Republic TV, for breach of privilege for submitting a copy of the proceedings of the Assembly in the Supreme Court without the Speaker’s permission. The notice was served on October 13 and a written clarification has been sought from Goswami by October 15, the secretariat said in a statement on Wednesday.
A notice was sent to Arnab Goswami by legislature secretariat on the 16th of September over breach of privilege
The Maharashtra legislature secretariat had earlier sought a clarification from Arnab Goswami on September 16 over a breach of privilege motion against him during a two-day monsoon session of the state legislature.
The motion had been tabled by Shiv Sena MLA Prapap Sarnaik, taking offence to the way Republic TV chief Arnab Goswami referred to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and other ministers during his coverage of Sushant Singh Rajput death case.
Since reportedly, no response was sent by Arnab Goswami by the deadline of 5th October, a second notice was sent to him seeking response to that notice by October 20.
Arnab Goswami approaches Supreme Court, sent back to High Court
While hearing a plea challenging Mumbai Police summons to the Republic TV officials for reporting on the TRP scam, the Supreme Court on 15th October asked Republic TV to go to Bombay High Court first before approaching the apex court. Justice Chandrachud pointed out that the office of Republic TV is in Worli, which is closer to Flora Fountain, where the High Court building is located.
A bench comprising Justices D Y Chandrachud, Indu Malhotra and Indira Banerjee heard the petition jointly filed by ARG Outlier Media Pvt Ltd and Arnab Goswami, and rejected the petition. Arnab Goswami and his media house had approached the Supreme Court against the summons issued by Mumbai Police to the officials of the channels, demanding to know the source of the complaint by Hansa Research which was accessed and broadcast by the channel. This complaint had exposed the lies of Mumbai Police Commissioner, as it shows that India Today was accused of manipulating TRP data, not Republic TV as alleged by the Commissioner.
The Supreme Court on Monday had also observed that it can entertain journalist Arnab Goswami’s plea challenging the show-cause notice issued by Maharashtra assembly only after any action is taken.
The Supreme Court had also raised concerns over Mumbai Police Commissioner Parambir Singh giving interviews to news channels. “We are concerned of this observation that as of late, Commissioners have the tendency of giving interviews”, said the court.
Before the proceedings could commence, the Mumbai Police had submitted a short advance reply in the court. They said that Article 19(1)(a) could not be used as a shield to prevent any investigation into the alleged fudging of TRPs. Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India guarantees to all its citizens the right to freedom of speech and expression.
