Bombay High Court Exempts Arnab Goswami From Personal Appearance Before Trial Court In Anvay Naik Suicide Case

The Bombay High Court, on Friday, granted Republic TV's Editor-in-Chief, Arnab Goswami, exemption from personal appearance before an Alibaug court in the Anvay Naik abetment to suicide case, till April 16.

A division bench of Justices SS Shinde and Manish Pitale granted the ad-interim relief on an amended plea by Goswami, seeking to quash the 2018 FIR and charge sheet against him in the interior designer's suicide.

In the interim, Goswami had sought exemption from personal appearance till his petition was decided, citing apprehension of false implication and illegal detention in a known/unknown case.

"Since we are seized of the matter, petitioner is granted relief till the next date," the court said while adjourning the case to April 16, 2021.

Goswami was represented by Senior Advocate Sanjog Parab and advocate Malvika Trivedi, instructed by Phoenix Legal.

The Chief Judicial Magistrate in Alibaug, on December 16, 2020, took cognisance of the charge sheet filed by the Raigad Police against Goswami and two others. Goswami was summoned by the magistrate and asked to appear on March 10, 2021.

The Petition

In his petition, Goswami has claimed that due to the "adverse circumstances" created by a "few vested people," he is apprehending "false implications and illegal detention" in known or unknown cases if he attends the trial court.

Goswami has alleged that "reinvestigation in the case has been done and charge sheet has clearly been filed only under political pressure and on account of malice on part of the State of Maharashtra."

He has further accused the Home Minister Anil Deshmukh of making "vendetta driven" public statements, and the police "seem to be executing his script."

Background

Interior designer Anvay Naik and his mother Kumud committed suicide in May 2018, allegedly because of non-payment of dues by firms of Goswami and two other accused. The accused were booked u/s 306 (abetment to suicide) and 109 (offering a bribe to a public servant) of the Indian Penal Code.

The case was closed for want of evidence in 2019, and re-opened in May, 2020. Goswami alleged that Maharashtra government was pursuing a vendetta against him for his work as a TV journalist.

Goswami was arrested by Raigad police on November 4 in connection with the case and was remanded in judicial custody for two weeks. On November 11, the Supreme Court ordered his release from the custody, after the Bombay High Court refused to grant him interim bail.

As many as 65 persons have been named as witnesses in the charge sheet, which runs into 1,914 pages.

It relies on a purported suicide note as Naik's 'dying declaration'. As per the charge sheet, handwriting on the suicide with that of Naik's and the forensic report indicated that he was not under pressure while writing it.

Six statements recorded before a magistrate under section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure are also part of the charge sheet.